Two Thieves, Two Students, Two Lovers
by leawright
Summary: Joker and Queen, Ren Amamiya and Makoto Niijima, they will face many trials and learn things from the other that will change them for the best, such as friendship, justice and specially, love (Ren x Makoto)
1. Two Students

**Hello everyboy, is me leawright and I welcome you all to my fic of Persona 5 called Two Thieves, Two Students, Two lovers, hope you enjoy it**

 **Special thanks to PRemington900 for his help, an awesome writer, check his own Persona 5 fic or his fire emblem fic if you are interested in that game**

 **Well, wit hall being said, enjoy**

 **I do now own any of the characters of this fic, they all belong to Atlus**

* * *

 **4/29 Friday**

Shujin academy, located in Aoyama-Itchome, in this school there was a young woman with brown hair in a bob cut with blunt bangs and a French-braid styled headband that matches her hair color, she was Makoto Niijima, 18 years old, third-year student as well as the Student Council President

She was sitting in the library located in the third floor, her books scattered on the table as well as models from her previous exams, doing her best to focus

- _Lets see, if I apply this formula, I should get the right answer_

She wrote some numbers and symbols for some moments

- _Good, now if x equals 6, y should equal_

-Excuse me, mind if I seat? someone said

Makoto looked up from her books to see another student; he was a young man with wavy unkempt black hair and dark gray eyes and wears glasses, his hands were in his pockets, for some reason, she had a feeling that she had seen him before

-Oh, sure, let me make some space for you Makoto said as she moves her stuff so that the male student could place his study material

-Thanks he reply and took his seat

He took out some of his books as well as his notebook, Makoto took a quick glance to his material and by the contents, she was able to deduce that he was a second year student; she shrugged and went back to her own work

Another exercise was over, she felt pleased, but before she could get onto the next one, her pen fell to the ground, she bend down and took it, she got up and notice once again the male student, she saw that he was scratching his head a bit, he must have some problems with the exercises

-Look, there he is a whisper was heard

Makoto look to the other table where she saw another student talking to a friend

-He was Ren Amamiya, right? another student said

And that is when it hit her, Ren Amamiya, the second-year 16 years old student that was transferred to Shujin, Makoto had heard about him, she was informed about his probation, not to mention the rumors that were flying around, she didnt pay them attention though, she had her responsibilities to fulfill, not to mention her own problems

She look at Ren again, he still seemed to have difficulties

Makoto was now in thought _He seems to need help but… what would the others said?_ she was a bit worry, could it affect her somehow if people see her with a supposedly criminal ? Then again, she is the Student Council President, is her job to help her fellow classmates

-Do you need any help? she asked

Ren looked up Huh?

-With your exercises, you seem to have some problems

-Oh, thanks

-No problem, now, show me where do you have problems

-Here, look he showed her his notes as well as the exercise he was trying to solve

-Hmmmm….. You are using the wrong formula she said

-Really? he said

-Yes, you should use this one she point to the right formula in his book if you follow the example, you will get the right result in the task, try it

He did what he was told, the exercise was complete

-All right he said clenching his fist with joy

-Good job Makoto said Now lets move to the next one

Both of them kept studying in silence

Ren stretch his arms, he was getting tired

-I think we should stop for today; we have been working for a while now Makoto said after checking her phone, it was 6:00 PM

-Yeah, I have to grab some things for boss or he would get angryRen said

- _Boss?_ Makoto thought You should be fine although I suggest you keep practicing

-I know, never been good at maths but you know

-I can give you a general idea of what they were like when I was a second-year

-All right, that would be helpful

-I have to warm you, I am going to drill into you, so prepare yourself

-Well, arent you being forward? Ren had a smirk in his face

-Excuse me? Makoto asked confused

-Nothing, lets study together he said

-Right, how about tomorrow?

-Sorry, I cant tomorrow, I have something else to do

-Oh

Ren phoned vibrate, he took it out to check it

-I have to go, see you later He got up and left the library

-See you Makoto said _Wait, we didnt exchange our numbers or anything_ Makoto left the library in order to catch up with Ren, but it was late, he was gone _Oh well, I guess Ill see him around_ she went back inside to grabbed her things _Still, I wonder what he meant by Boss? Does he work somewhere or anything?_ Makoto thought

* * *

Ren was walking down the street of Shibuya; he was carrying a bag of coffee beans, his phone sounded, he took it out

-Hello he said

-Yo, whats up man? someone said

-Hi Ryuji, is everything ok?

-Yeah, I have everything prepared for tomorrow, Ann is ready as well, believe me, that asshole is going to pay

-All right, but lets not get careless

-I know, by the way, where were you after class?

-I went to the library to study a bit

-Surprised you can study there, with all the rumors about you

-Let them talk, I dont care, I know the truth

-Yeah, how did it go?

-It was hard at first, but I got some help

-For real? From who?

-It was… Ren stopped in his tracks Huh, I didnt ask her name or anything

-What the hell?

-Tell him that it is still more studying than you do Ryuji certain companion in Rens bag said

-Morgana wants me to tell you that it is more studying than you do

-Tell him he can choke in a hairball Ryuji said pissed Wait, you said her, so it was a girl

-Yes

-Does she has a friend? he asked

-I dont even know who she was

-Come on man he said disappointed

-I have to go, see you tomorrow

-See ya

Ren hung up, he went to the train station in order to go home, after all, tomorrow was a big day, although, he still wondered who that girl was

* * *

 **4/30 Saturday**

A lot of students were gathered in the bulletin board near the entrance, they were all watching a red card that was placed there

-A calling card? a student said

-I heard it was already posted by the time everyone got here another student said

-What is going on? Makoto said, she got near the boar and read the card

 **Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that cant fight back. Thats why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts**

-What is this? she was shocked just as her fellow students

-Wait a sec… Is someone gonna take something from Mr. Kamoshida? a student said

-So the rumors are true? another one said

\- _Phantom Thieves?_ she thought

Kamoshida walked furiously

-Whos responsible for this? he said, he read the contents of the card Did you do this?! Or was it you?

All the students ran away, Kamoshida walked to 3 particular students, Makoto hide on the other side of the wall

-Was it you two?

Makoto gasped, of the 3 students, she recognized one in particular

-Ren she thought

-So what if we did? Ren had a cocky smile on his face

-Eh, its not a problem. Youll be expelled soon anyway Kamoshida walked away

Makoto was confused; she looked at Ren once more, could he have done it? She didnt have any proof, all she could do was wait

* * *

 **5/2 Monday**

An assembly was called; all the students were reunited at the gym

-Whats with the sudden assembly? one student said

-I bet its about that girl that jumped the other day another said

-They dont have to tell us not to commit suicide

An obese man entered and stand at the podium

-Lets begin this school-wide morning assembly. As you all know, a tragic event took place the other day. Thankfully, we have been informed that she has pulled through, but it will take time until she recovers. Everyone here has a bright future ahead. I implore that you rethink the importance of life and-

-Ah! Ann yelled

Entering the gym, was Kamoshida, he was looking to the floor, he seemed to be depressed

-I… have been reborn. That is why I will confess everything to you all

He walked until he was standing in front of all the students

-I have repeatedly done things that were… unbecoming of a teacher. Verbally abusing students… physically abusing my team, and… sexually harassing female students. I am the reason why Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself!

He knee down and began to cry, everybody in the room were shocked

-I thought of this school as my own castle… There were students that I sentenced to expulsion, simply because I didnt like them… I will, of course, rescind those… I am truly sorry for putting innocent youths through such horrible acts… I am an arrogant, shallow and shameful person. No, Im worse than that…

He lowered his head

-I will take responsibility and kill myself for it!

After hearing that, all the students were talking between themselves

-Mr. Kamoshida! Please get off the stage for now! the director ordered him

-Everyone, return to your classes one of the teachers said

- _Oh my god_ Makoto thought

-Dont run, you bastard! Ann yelled

Everybody looked at her

-Shihos still alive even after all the things that made her want to die! You have no right to run from this!

Kamoshida began to stand up

-You are right… You are absolutely right... I should be punished under the law and atone for my crimes… As of today, I will resign from my position as an instructor and turn myself in. Someone, please call the police!

-Wow Ryuji said in disbelief

-This mornings assembly is over! Return to your classes immediately! a teacher said

-Isnt this just like what that calling card said? a student said

-Does this mean the Phantom Thieves thing was real? another one asked

-Everybody, return to classes at once! the teacher said again

All the students went back to their respective classes, including Makoto, but she took a glance to Ren who was talking to Ryuji and Ann, _quite the interesting combination_ she thought

* * *

 **5/6 Friday**

Days has passed since Kamoshida revelation, and boy the school has become quite the mess

-Did you wish to see me, Principal Kobayakawa?

-You saw the state Kamoshida-kun was in, didnt you? Its as if his personality has completely changed. Something is definitely wrong here. From what Ive heard, it appears as though some students were meddling in his business. If they did something to him… Who could they be?

Makoto had an idea about who could be, but she kept quiet

-Are you saying that these students may have cause Mr. Kamoshida to change? she asked

-That is what I wish to know… Even if it takes some probing into student matters… I would like you to look into this for me.

-It is true that there are many rumors regarding Mr. Kamoshida, but… Do you mean all this talk about those Phantom Thieves?

-It is undeniable that Mr. Kamoshida changed in some way. Id like to have a grasp of the cause. This shall also ensure that I handle the mass media and police in the correct fashion.

-Oh

-I will continue speaking to Mr. Kamoshida myself. Unless you find whoever did this, these irresponsible rumors will likely never die down. Dont you agree?

A little smile appeared in his face

-You have been at the top of your class since day one. Your conduct is good, and the teachers favor you. I could write you a recommendation for any college of your choosing, Makoto Niijima

-Th-Thank you

-Your lineage must certainly play a part in this excellence. Your sister is still young, yet she holds an admirable position at the Public Prosecutors Office, no?

Makoto eyes went wide

-If something disappointing were to happen here, that wouldnt reflect very well on your sister… Do you understand?

-Yes she said, although she felt a bit guilty about it

-How wise. No wonder youre our student council president. Id appreciate if you looked into this as soon as possible. I ask that you begin at once.

Makoto looked down to the floor for a second

-Yes. If you ll excuse me then

She left the principal office, she knew what to do, this was her chance, to get into college, to help her sister, she just have to do what she was told, just like always, but...

She felt uneasy, why? This was the right thing to do, and she was going to see it through.

* * *

 **So this is the end for now, did you like it? Soryy if there wanst many interactions between Ren and Makoto, I wanted this first chapter to set the grounds for what comes next, that is where the real fun begins**

 **Once again, special shotout to PRemington 900 for his help, thanks man**

 **As usual, thank you for reading, leave reviews or anything and I would gladly answer them**

 **And Happy New Year, I hope that your 2018 starts, goes and ends well**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	2. Curry Together

**Hello everyone, welcome back to Two Thieves, Two Students, Two Lovers**

 **It looks like some people are liking this fic, I want to thank you for your support, lets keep it up**

 **Well, with all being said, enjoy**

* * *

 **5/7 Saturday**

Ren was in the rooftop of Shujin Academy along with Ryuji, Morgana and Ann, talking about their next possible target, Ryuji read some of the post in the web site

-¨None of these posts are any good. Everyones just bitching about their parents or their boyfriends. There aint even a hint of a hint about a new palace…¨

-¨We cant get everything online… Finding a post with a name and a location is asking a lot¨Ann said and sighed

-¨Guess we just gotta find one ourselves then!¨ Ryuji said

-¨Are you seriously suggesting we look for a target that even the police have overlooked?¨ Morgana said and lick his foot

-¨Yeah, you are right. We should prolyl just hold off til exams are done with, huh? We can wait and see for a little longer, then worry about comin up emptyhanded if it happens¨

They all heard that the door to the rooftop was opening, they turned their head to see who it was, and they were surprised, specially Akira

-¨ _Is that girl!_ ¨Ren thought

-¨Oh¨ Ann said

Makoto approach to the group, Morgana quickly hid

-¨This place is off limits, you know¨ Makoto said

-¨Well get outta here once we are done chattin¨ Ryuji said a little annoyed ¨Anyways, whats Miss Council President wants with us?¨

-¨ _Council President?!_ ¨Ren thought surprised

-¨The troublemaker, the girl of rumor, and the infamous transfer student… interesting combination¨ she said

Ann got alarmed ¨Great way to start a conversation¨ she said with sarcasm

-¨By the way¨

Makoto looked at Ren

-¨It seems as though you got to know Mr. Kamoshida pretty well¨

-¨Somewhat¨ he replied

-¨Anyone who attends this school would have interacted with him, whether they liked or not¨ Ann said

-¨I heard Mr. Kamoshida used a volleyball team member to spread details of your past record. Dont you hate him? Mr. Kamoshida, I mean¨

Ryuji interfered ¨Whats this all about? My friend heres an upstanding guy¨.

-¨I dont mean to offend. Many students have been shaken up by what happened with Mr. Kamoshida. The rumor about that odd, calling card-esque posting arent going away either¨

-¨I didnt expect someone like you would care about that tactless stuff, Niijima-senpai¨. Ann said surprised

-¨I dunno that it was tactless¨ Ryuji said ¨Anyways, we done here? We cant leave if you keep talkin to us¨

-¨At least try to understand my position. Being forced to deal with this horseplay…¨ she said angry

-¨ _Forced?_ ¨Ren thought

-¨Ah yes, by the way… Its been decided that this place will be closed off due to the incident. I heard some people are coming up here without permission, after all.¨

She turn around began to head back to the exit "I'm sorry to have interrupted"

-¨By the way ¨ Ren said

Makoto turn to face him

-¨Thank you for helping me the other day¨ he showed her a little smile, Ryuji and Ann looked at each other confused

-¨Oh, um…¨ Makoto was taken back a little¨You are welcome¨ and with that, she was gone

Ann stood up from her seat

-¨What was that about?¨ she asked

Morgana climbed down

-¨She is on to us¨ he said

Ann looked at Ren ¨And why did you thank her for?¨

-¨She help me to study the other day¨

Ryujis eyes went wide ¨Wait, so SHE was the girl you talked me about?!¨

Ren nodded his head ¨I didnt know she was the Student Council President though¨

-¨That girl seems rather sharp. We should be cautious of her¨ Morgana said

-¨She really pisses me off¨ Ryuji said

-¨Calm down Ryuji, something is fishy here¨ Ren said

-¨Are you defending her?! She is investigating us!¨ Ann said

-¨I am merely giving her the benefit of doubt, nothing else¨ he said

-¨That reminds me¨ Morgana said ¨Study hard. Especially you, Ryuji. There are bound to be traps that will need to be solved with brains¨

-¨True, studying wont be so bad if we just think of it as helping us prepare to be phantom thieves¨ Ann said

Ryuji sighed ¨I guess you got a point, but man, its just so lame… I was all fired up about helping people, not studying…¨

-¨Well, I do have somewhere interesting to show you beforehand. You guys did originally promise to help me out with my mission, after all¨

-¨Huh? Mission?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Follow me¨ Morgana said and the rest of the group following him, although Ren was deep in thought

-¨ _That girl sure is something, I wonder what she meant by being forced?_ ¨

* * *

 **5/18 Wednesday**

Ren left the library, he went downstairs and walked down the hallway, a few steps behind him, was certain student covering her face with a manga

-¨ _Easy Makoto, easy_ ¨she said to herself

-¨Huh?¨ Ren stopped

Makoto got alarmed, she turn back so that Ren wouldnt see her, thankfully, he didnt

-¨ _That was a close one_ ¨she thought

He went to a vending machine, Makoto hid behind the corner

-¨ _Ok, he is buying a drink, nothing out of ordinary yet_ ¨

He left the school building and everywhere he went, Makoto was behind him

Now in Shibuya, he entered a DVD store

-¨Now he is renting a movie, come on, do something¨ she said a little annoyed

Meanwhile in the DVD store, Morgana pop his head out of Ren´s bag

-¨Hey, we got a problem¨ he whispered

-¨What?¨ Ren whispered back

-¨That Niijima girl, she is following us, ever since we left school¨

-¨No wonder why I got the feeling that I was being followed¨

-¨We need to lose her¨

-¨She would just follow us again, what we need is to distract her¨

-¨Do you have any ideas?¨

-¨I think so¨

 **After some minutes**

Ren left the store and began to run

-¨ _What happened?_ ¨she thought

A couple of passerbies pass in front of her

-¨Excuse me¨ she said as she move through the crowd, but unfortunately, she lost sight of Ren ¨No!¨

-¨Can I help you with something, Niijima- senpai?¨

Makoto jump and dropped her manga, she turned around and saw Ren standing with a smirk on his face

-¨Ah¨ she turned red ¨A-Amamiya-kun, hi, how are you?¨

-¨I am fine, just taking a walk, you?¨

-¨Oh, me, I was just…. Going to buy the next volume of a book, I heard it came out today¨

-¨Cool¨ he said

-¨I need a break every once in a while from my duties as a Student Council President, not that I expect you would understand that¨

-¨Actually, I do, well, only a bit of it¨

-¨Y-You do?¨ she was surprised

-¨Yeah, one of my….. friends is the Student Council President back in my former school so I kind of understand what you have to put up with¨ he said with a bit of sadness in his voice

-¨Are you ok?¨ she asked

-¨Y-yeah, just thinking about stuff¨ he said

-¨Well, dont mind me, keep up with your activities¨

-¨I was heading to the bookstore as well, want to go together?¨

Makoto was surprised ¨S-sure, if you insist¨

The two headed to the bookstore

-¨I am going to check the back¨ he said

-¨Ok¨

Ren went to the back of the store, Makoto closely behind, he raised an eyebrow

-¨Arent you going to check if your book came out?¨ he asked

-¨Oh, right, ha ha, be right back¨ she walk quickly to the counter to talk with the owner or at least to pretend she did so ¨ _This is bad, I have nothing here_ ¨she sighed

Ren returned with a book on his hand ¨Any luck?¨ he asked her

-¨Oh, no, nothing here¨ she felt nervous, she needed to change the subject, she looked at Akira´s book ¨What type of book is that one?¨

-¨Is a cooking book¨

-¨Really?¨

-¨Yeah, I have started to grow fond of it so Ive being reading these, this one is about curry tips¨

-¨Curry? I never tried it before¨

-¨Well, you should stop by at Leblanc, trust me, you are not going to regret it¨

-¨That… does sounds interesting¨ she said

-¨I cant promise that it would be good as my guardian, but still¨

That part got her attention

-¨This guardian of yours is¨

-¨The owner of Leblanc, people call him Boss¨

It was at that moment that Makoto remembered something

-¨So he is the boss you talked about it during our study session?¨

-¨Yeah, he is a good guy once you get to know him¨

And with that confirmation, Makoto theory crumbled faster than a tower of cards

-¨ _Great, my only lead turn out to be wrong_ ¨she was depressed

-¨Are you all right?¨ Ren asked a little concerned

-¨Huh?¨ she returned to reality ¨Oh, yes, just considering your offer¨

-¨Come on, it would be my way to pay you back for your help¨

-¨You dont owe me anything, it was my duty after all, but since you made the offer, I guess I can try¨

-¨Ok, lets go¨

They both headed to the train station in order to go to Yongen-Jaya

* * *

-¨Here we are¨ Ren said as he opened the door, today the coffee was going to be closed since Boss had to left on a little trip

Makoto looked around to the establishment, it gave a cozy sensation, slightly illuminated yet not too dark and she could felt the aroma of coffee, it was quite big despite how it looked outside

-¨It´s really nice¨ she said

-¨Thanks, sit anywhere you like, Ill start to make the food¨

She took her seat near the counter

After about 20 minutes, Ren returned with a dish of curry with rice

-¨Here you go, I made the regular one since you never tried curry before¨ he said

-¨Thank you¨

She took a bite and her eyes went wide

-¨Wow, this… this taste great, I can sense a sweet flavor¨

-¨It´s from the apples I added into the mix¨

-¨Never would have thought that something as apples could be used in a dish that is said to be spicy¨

She kept eating

-¨This is just the mild version, there are things that would blow your mind away¨

-¨ _Is this really the criminal punk that people are talking about?_ ¨Makoto thought

She stopped eating for a minute

-¨You are quite different from what I first imagine, Amamiya-kun¨ she said

-¨What do you mean? And just call me Ren¨

-¨Well, despite those rumors about you, here you are behaving yourself¨

-¨People are free to said what they want, I am me, I have nothing to hide and thats all that matters¨

-¨Most people would be angry with them¨

-¨I try not to jump to conclusions when I met somebody, I mean, those people have lives after all, right? They have their problems as well and while it would never justify what they do, you can at least understand them, that is what I believe¨

Makoto was surprised to hear such an answer

-¨I… I dont know what to say¨

-¨Sorry, got a little too emotional there, dont want to ruin your food¨ he said

-¨It´s fine, it was quite delicious¨

-¨Glad you like it¨

Makoto checked her phone ¨I have to go, thank you for everything¨

-¨Come back anytime¨ he said with a smile

Makoto leave Leblanc and headed to the train station, she couldnt stop thinking about what Akira said, he seemed like an honest person, very much different from what she heard and while she couldnt find out anything for her investigation, she kept thinking about him

-¨ _Am I doing the right thing?_ ¨she thought

Meanwhile, Ren was washing the dish, Morgana aprroached him

-¨Why did you bring her here?¨ he said a little angry

-¨I dont know, I just felt like it, I know that she is investigating us but she said she was being forced, so something must be wrong, I want to help¨

Morgana sighed ¨Look, I admire your sense of helping people but dont you think you are leaving your guard down?¨

-¨She didnt seem like a bad person Morgana, at least that is what I think¨ he said and kept washing the dish

He couldnt stop thinking about her

* * *

 **And this is the end for now, Our protagonists have a little moment there, now Makoto is confused while Ren is deep in thought, waht would happen when certain events strike them ? Stay tune to find out**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading and leave revies and I would galdy answer them**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	3. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

**6/5 Sunday**

A big screen In Shibuya started to shown a sad old man who was about to give a press conference

-¨What´s up with that old geezer? ¨ a pedestrian said

-¨Is he crying? ¨ another said

-¨I… I have committed crimes that are unbecoming of an artist. Plainly put… I, um… plagiarized work¨ he said

All the photographers present started to take photos, shocked to hear that

-¨I-I… tainted this… this country´s art world… and… even Sayuri…!

He started to cried without control ¨H-How could I… I possibly… apologize to- to everyone for… for what I´ve done… Aaaaah…! ¨

The room became quite a mess

-¨He´s crying way too much…¨ a pedestrian said

-¨And that was from the urgent apology conference by Madarame that took place just a moment ago. After reporting to the association, Madarame has agreed to the police´s request to turn himself in¨ the Newscaster said

-¨Wasn´t he on the TV the other day? ¨ a woman in Shibuya said

The Newscaster continue his report ¨On top of charges of abuse to his pupils, Madarame is under suspicion of claiming their works as his own. Some doubt the validity that his maiden work ¨Sayuri¨ was stolen, believing it was used for fraud. This large-scale criminal act has caused a great shock to the art world and…¨

-¨That old man´s done for¨ a woman said

-¨After the conference, Madarame was taken to a police hospital for interrogation due to his age. However, initial psych evaluations state that he is mentally sound and likely responsible for his actions¨ the Newscaster added

-¨There´s no need to be nice to an old geezer like that¨ a man said

-¨Why´d he spill the beans himself? Doesn´t that seem weird? ¨ another man asked

-¨Also, a group calling themselves the Phantom Thieves posted a dubious note at Madarame´s exhibit. The police will investigate their relation to this case, but for now, did not identify them as suspects¨ the reporter said

-¨Ohh, I´ve heard of them before. They supposedly steal evil hearts, it´s why the culprits apologize¨ a woman said

-¨Wait, what? Steal hearts? That´s impossible though¨ another woman said

All of this caught Makoto´s attention

-¨Phantom Thieves again¨ she said a bit angry, until she noticed a certain group of people, particularly certain young man, so she followed them

* * *

Ren was reunited with Ryuji, Ann, Morgana and their new ally, Yusuke Kitagawa

-¨You guys see the news about Madarame!? It´s just like what happened with Kamoshida¨ Ryuji said quite proud

-¨And they mentioned the Phantom Thieves! ¨ Ann yelled

-¨Man, this is starting to get interesting… If we do it right, we can change people´s hearts. With this power… we might be able to do more than just getting back at society. It´ll be a big deal! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨This´ll be fun¨ Ren said

-¨Let´s keep pushing on then! ¨ Ryuji said enthusiastically

-¨Something like this happening twice is massive too. It´s too great a coincidence to occur normally¨ Morgana said

-¨If we continue to do this, we´ll definitely be able to give courage to everyone who needs it¨ Ann said

A couple of officer got near to them

-¨We may want to quiet down a little¨ Yusuke said

-¨Do you know them? ¨ Ann asked

-¨You moron! Those´re attendance officers! ¨

An officer approached the group

-¨Hello there. May I speak with you for a moment? ¨ one of the officers asked

-¨Ah, yes! How can we help you? ¨ Ann asked with innocence

-¨That monotonous acting of hers never fails to send a chill down my spine¨ Morgana whispered

-¨What are you all doing here? Are you friends? ¨ the police asked

-¨What do we look like? ¨ Ren whispered in a mocking tone

-¨Hm…? What did you say? ¨ one officer asked

-¨A-Ahaha! That was a joke! He didn´t get much sleep last night¨ Ann said nervously

-¨Well, all right. Just make sure you disperse before it gets too late, OK? There have been some odd happenings lately, and the news about that artist has caused quite the stir.¨

-¨We´ll be careful¨ Ann said

And after that, the officers left

-¨It´s still light out… Man, those guys must have way too much time on their hands¨ Ryuji said a bit annoyed

-¨Hey, don´t go making stuff up on the spot like that, Ok!? I totally panicked caused of you! ¨ Ann yelled to Ren

-¨Sorry, it was a good chance¨ Ren said with a smirk, Ann rolled her eyes

-¨From now on, We´ll need to be even more cautious than before. Look at us! Right after the second Thieves incident, both prior victims are meeting up¨ Morgana warned

-¨Wait, you mean people might be listening to us? ¨ Ann asked worry

-¨Eh, it´ll be fine. Look around. We´re the only people worryin´about it¨ Ryuji said relaxed

Unfortunately, that was far from reality, since there Makoto saw them all the time

-¨Yusuke Kitagawa¨ she said and left

Ren stopped on his tracks, he thought that he saw someone but just shrugged and kept walking

* * *

 **?**

The time moved fast, it was as if the world was spinning, Ren was now in a dark room, bruises in his face

-¨So after Shiho Suzui, you did it again for someone you barely knew? You were sent away twice, almost reported to the police… and yet you still wanted to save him? ¨ a woman sitting in front of Ren asked with incredibility

She shook her head

-¨Moreover, you ended up I a museum instead of a castle this time… You´re still going to maintain this rubbish about changing someone´s heart by stealing their Treasure? ¨

-¨Take it as you will¨ he said

-¨Very well. The truth behind this tales of yours will be clear once your conspirators are in custody¨ she went quiet for a second ¨Now then, tell me about this new member who joined your group¨

Ren remained quiet

-¨There is no point in being stubborn. It will only damage your position. The identity of Madarame´s pupil can be easily discovered with a little investigation¨

Once again, he remained quiet

-¨So you won´t sell out your accomplice? ¨

Both remain quiet for a few seconds

-¨Fine. There´s still much more that I want to hear¨ she got a book ¨Now your next target was this man¨

Ren began to felt weak, he breath heavily

-¨Hey, are you all right? ¨ the woman asked

He took a Tiki keychain out of his pocket and grabbed it with force ¨I…. have to return to her¨ he said between breaths

The woman was confused ¨her? ¨ she noticed the keychain and for some reason, it was slightly familiar

-¨Let´s move on¨ he said after recovering a little

-¨Anyway, your next target, Junya Kaneshiro¨

* * *

 **6/6 Monday**

Back to reality, in Shujin Academy, Makoto was in the principal´s office

-¨How are things going in regard to that matter we spoke earlier¨ the Principal asked

-¨I have nothing to report yet¨ she said

He got angry ¨Nothing at all? How many students are there who could provoke a teacher? ¨

-¨I´ve already narrowed it down. I just… can´t get any solid evidence¨ she thought of Ren for a brief moment

The director sighed

Now Makoto was angry ¨You knew, didn´t you? About Mr. Kamoshida sexually harassing students¨

He remained quiet

Makoto was astonished ¨Sir! ¨

-¨What will come of you asking that?

Now she was more than angry

-¨This investigation is for a just cause, correct? ¨

-¨I believe I understand how flustered this must be making you. I´m sure it was truly shocking for you as student council president to see a peer attempt suicide¨

She got sad ¨Yes¨

-¨We must provide a school environment where all students can feel at ease. This is the most pressing issue we have to tackle at the moment.¨

-¨So that´s your reason behind this investigation on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts? We don´t even know if they truly exist. Why are you¨

-¨You heard about the incident with that Madarame fellow, I assume? ¨ he said changing the subject

-¨They said there was a similar calling card to the one used in Mr. Kamoshida´s case¨

-¨I wish to believe this was unrelated to our students. That is where I stand. I suggest you devote your energy to the task at hand, not unnecessary questions¨

Makoto went quiet; she nodded her head and left the office, what on earth could she do?

* * *

 **6/7 Tuesday**

Ren entered the school, on his way to his classroom, he heard some students talking

-¨What´s this? ¨A request to the student body¨? ¨ a girl said

-¨It says they´re looking for information. I heard Principal Kobayakawa put it up¨ another student said

-¨Please consult the student council president if you have any details¨

-¨So we can go to her for anything? ¨

-¨Why the student council president though? What does she have to do with Principal Kobayakawa? ¨

-¨I mean, Niijima-san is her favorite. Maybe that´s why he asked her to do it¨

Ren kept walking

-¨ _What is she doing? Did the principal put her up to something?_ ¨ he thought

* * *

Later, Ann went to buy a drink, until she started to heard two students talking

-¨Sounds like the principal´s trying to get info on the students. Why do you think he´s doing that? ¨ a student said

-¨It´s probably because of Mr. Kamoshida, right? Considering what happened with Suzui-san¨ another said

That part got Ann attention

-¨I heard Principal Kobayakawa knew about the sexual harassment too and just turned a blind eye to it. I bet he wants to snuff out any rumors now. Even the volleyball team was told to keep quiet¨

-¨That´s the worst… So that´s what he´s using Niijima-senpai for? ¨

-¨Oh yeah. Rumor has it she knew as well. Isn´t that horrible? She acts all noble about it too

-¨Niijima-senpai knew? ¨ Ann whispered to herself and she left

* * *

 **6/11 Saturday**

Ren was reunited with Ryuji, the day following the social studies trip

Ryuji punched a vending machine ¨Man, that detective from yesterday really pissed me off! We´re some kinda threat? Let´s see him do it, then! If someone else could help ´em, we wouldn´t be doing stuff as the Phantom Thieves to start with! ¨

Ann showed up and hit Ryuji behind the head

-¨Ow¨ he said

-¨Thank you Ann¨ Ren said with a smirk

-¨You´re being way too loud¨ she said

-¨Who cares? Everybody´s talking about this stuff anyways. It´d just be more suspicious if we were whispering¨ he looked at Ann for a few seconds ¨Hey, you really just gonna keep eating and eating and eating those things all by yourself!? Gimme some! ¨

-¨Sorry, just ate the last one¨ she said

-¨You guys are too laid back. The police are getting involved now, you know¨ Morgana said

Ann got worry ¨So you think it´s true…? We´ll be OK if we keep doing this… right? ¨

-¨We can´t let the cop scare us outta being Phantom Thieves¨ Ryuji said

-¨But… what about that weird guy from Madarame´s Palace…? Isn´t there a lot we don´t know? ¨ Ann asked

They all felt a flash of light and looked to where it came from

-¨The hell? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨You three seem to be having so much fun. I´m a little jealous¨ Makoto said

-¨Are you snooping on us again? We said before, we don´t know nothing ¨ Ryuji said

-¨Why do you think I´m here to question you? Could it be that you´re hiding something? ¨ she asked

Ryuji went quiet

-¨My ears are always open to the troubles of my peers, you know¨ she said

Ann shook her head ¨You´re really that hungry for a good letter of recommendation? ... Of course you are. Nobody would take on your annoying job if they weren´t¨

-¨What´s that supposed to mean? ¨ Makoto asked angry

-¨You´re student council president, right? Wouldn´t you have known about Kamoshida? ¨

-¨Of course not! He honestly was a good teacher until that day¨

-¨Oh, but you always take the teacher´s side. That´s what a good council president does, right? ¨

-¨Then… how about you? What did you do for your friend? You were closer to her than I was, so how did you help? ¨

-¨There wasn´t any way to help! By myself… I couldn´t do anything for her! ¨

-¨Ok, that´s enough! ¨ Ren said as he stepped in ¨if she says she didn´t know, then fine, is not like that would make any difference now¨

-¨What?!¨ Ann was shocked ¨Why are you taking her side? What if she is lying? ¨

-¨I am not taking her side, but I won´t stand while you two throw insults to each other¨

-¨Dude, you can´t be serious! ¨ Ryuji complained ¨Why are you doing this? ¨

-¨Because I don´t jump to conclusions¨ he folded his arms

-¨What is that supposed to mean? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Before I met you, there were rumors about you two¨ he pointed at Ryuji and Ann ¨Either that you were a troublemaker or a bitch, but I choose not to listen to them because there was no way that it could be true, I decided to get to know you and you know what I found out? That you two are good people and that you cared about others, if I haven´t, we wouldn´t be friends now, so explain to me why you guys deserve that right and not her? ¨

Both Ann and Ryuji went quiet; none of them have any words to counter that

As for Makoto, she was shocked; nobody has ever stood up for her like that, she felt guilty, she needed to get out of there

-¨Just make sure you show up to your classes, all right? ¨ and she left

Awkwardness filled the atmosphere

-¨Um, dude¨ Ryuji said

-¨Let´s just go¨ Ren said and walked away

Back with Makoto, she hid herself in the bathroom

-¨ _Why?_ ¨ she asked herself, why was Ren defending her? Why things were so hard? She just wanted to help, to be useful, so why? She took a deep breath, she couldn´t back off, even if it mean to betray his trust

* * *

 **6/13 Monday**

Classes were over, Ren was about to go, until

-¨Oh good, you haven´t gone home yet¨ Ms. Kawakami said ¨Niijima-san is looking for you. Could you head to the student council room right away? She says there´s no report of a lost item, so she wants you to start filling out some paperwork¨

-¨I don´t understand¨ he said

-¨Telling me that isn´t going to get you out of this¨

And with that, she left

-¨What could she want? ¨ Morgana whispered

* * *

Ren went to the Student Council room, he entered, Makoto was there

-¨Ah. Earlier than expected. Have a seat¨

They both took their seat

-¨I´ll get straight to the point. Mr. Kamoshida and Madarame. Won´t you tell me the truth behind the Phantom Thieves´ incidents? ¨

Ren went quiet, he got a bit nervous

-¨Can´t answer that? Ah, of course. There´s no way you would admit to such things¨ she took out her phone ¨Have a listen¨

 **-¨If someone else could help ´em, we wouldn´t be doing stuff as the Phantom Thieves to start with! ¨**

 **-¨So you think it´s true…? We´ll be OK if we keep doing this… right? ¨**

Ren´s skin went pale

-¨What could all this mean? ¨

-¨We screwed up¨ Morgana whispered from Ren´s bag

-¨Was it blackmail? Hypnosis? How do you corner someone into making them confess? Won´t you tell me how you did it? ¨

-¨Ask the culprits¨ he said

-¨You want to say that this doesn´t prove anything, don´t you? I believe that you three are the Phantom Thieves, if you confess the truth, I don´t mind just leaving this between the two of us. You´ll tell me, won´t you? ¨

-¨I have the right to remain silent¨

-¨That´s the same as admitting to it, you know¨

Ren phone started to ring, he answered it, and it was Ryuji

-¨Hey, where you at? Taking a leak? Let´s meet up at the usual spot to hold our Phantom Thieves meeting¨ and of course, he had to yell all of that

-¨That idiot! ¨ Morgana said

-¨As loud as always… but his timing´s perfect. I´d like everyone else to hear this as well. Won´t you take me to your friends? ¨

-¨I guess it can´t be helped now¨

Ren clenched his fist with anger, this was his fault ¨You wouldn´t mind if Ryuji appears with a black eye, right?¨

* * *

 **And that´s the end for now, it seems trouble has arise for Ren once more and Makoto is truly desperate, even if it means betraying him, what would happen to the two of them now? Stay tune to find out**

 **Also, good news, we have passed the 1300 views, I want to thank you all for your support so far, I am really happy that you are enjoying my story and it if it makes you happy, then mission acomplished**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading and leave a review or send me a pm and I would gladly answer them**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	4. Guilt and Regret

**6/13 Monday**

Yusuke, Ryuji and Ann were waiting in Shibuya

-¨Oh¨ Yusuke said surprised

-¨Hm? ¨ Ryuji stopped watching his phone ¨He here? ¨

-¨Is that girl a friend of yours? ¨ he asked

Ren approached the group and for their surprised, Makoto was with him

-¨W-What the hell? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨What´s the meaning of this? ¨ Ann asked

-¨I had him lead me here¨ Makoto said ¨Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki¨ she looked at Yusuke ¨And you´re Kitagawa-kun, correct? Second-year at Kosei High and former pupil of Madarame? ¨ she took out her phone ¨I wanted to ask you all about this¨

She reproduced the recording, which of course had the voices of Ann and Ryuji, among other things

-¨An extremely similar technique was used for both Kamoshida and Madarame…While those affected by their acts were just coincidentally meeting up, how could that not raise suspicions? ¨

They all looked at each other

-¨What do you intend to do? Have you come just to say you´re going to report us? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨I bet someone told you to find us. The school can´t have ties to criminals, after all¨ Ann said angry ¨And yet they turn a blind eye when it comes to suicide and sexual harassment. Those adults are just using you. I feel sorry for you¨

Makoto looked down ashamed ¨I… I know¨

-¨Huh? ¨ Ann was surprised

-¨That´s why I would like to verify the justice you speak of¨ she said with determination

-¨What? ¨ Ryuji asked confused

-¨I´m the only one who knows about you. If you prove what you´re doing is just, I´ll erase this¨

-¨She wants to make a deal¨ Morgana whispered into Ren´s ear

-¨I noticed¨ he whispered back

-¨There is someone whose heart I´d like you to change¨

-¨Who? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Hm, so you are not saying it´s impossible¨ she pointed out ¨However… I cannot tell you that just yet. Let´s continue our talk after school tomorrow, on the roof. Assuming you accept my offer, that is¨

After that, she left

-¨This is turning into a real pain¨ Ryuji said

* * *

The guys headed to a dinner, where Ren filled them in with more details

-¨You were careless. I don´t think you truly understood how high the stakes were¨ Yusuke said angry ¨Anything to say, Ryuji? ¨

-¨Why are you singling me out? Ann got recorded too, y´know¨

-¨I am so sorry¨ she said depressed

-¨Hey, what should we do? ¨ Ryuji asked ¨That girl´s got dirt on us¨

-¨A recording seems to be insufficient evidence though. And even with that, there´s no way they could prove our methods¨ Yusuke said

-¨Considering who we ´re dealing with, I think it might be a trap¨ Ann said

-¨Regardless, Ren would be in real trouble. He´s on probation, after all¨ Morgana said worry

-¨Then… we have no other choice but to go along with it¨ Yusuke said worry

-¨Yes, it´s best we agree, at least for the time being. We made a crucial mistake… but not a critical one. We´ll just have to recover from here on out¨ Morgana said

-¨So… we doing this? ¨ Ryuji asked Ren, but…

Ren just remained quiet, his hand covering his glasses

-¨Ren? ¨ Yusuke said

-¨We are but….. After this, I am abandoning the team¨ he said

Everybody got alarmed

-¨Say what now?!¨ Ann asked

-¨I got us into this, it I haven´t defend her, maybe things would have been different¨ he slammed his fist on the table

-¨Ren, you are not thinking straight¨ Yusuke said

-¨Let´s just meet up tomorrow in the rooftop¨ he grabbed his bag and pushed Yusuke away and ran

-¨Dude, wait! ¨ Ryuji yelled but it was late

Ren got home and went straight to his room/attic and threw his bag

-¨Hey, I am still here¨ Morgana complained

-¨Sorry¨ he sit on his bed and buried his face on his hands

-¨Hey, this is not your fault¨ Morgana said walking to Ren

-¨I don´t want to talk about it Morgana¨ he said

-¨But¨ he said

-¨Just…. Let´s go to sleep; we need our strength for tomorrow¨

He started to change, doing his best to restrain his tears ¨ _Why?_ ¨

* * *

 **6/14 Tuesday**

Ryuji, Ann, Morgana and Ren went to the rooftop, although Ren chose to wait outside

-¨I was thinking you might not show¨ Makoto said, but she noticed Ren was not with them ¨Where is? ¨

-¨Outside¨ Ryuji said

-¨So, whose heart do you want us to change? ¨ Ann asked, getting to the point

-¨A mafia boss¨ she said

-¨Mafia!? ¨ Ann asked shocked

-¨What are you talking about!? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨That´s what they call themselves. This group seems to be the cause of the rise in phishing scams. What´s worse, once you´re in their sights, they won´t stop threatening you until they get what they want. They´ll force you to take part in their scams, threaten your family and ultimately destroy your life¨

-¨Holy shit¨ Ryuji said

-¨It appears that their victims include some of our students. They primarily target juveniles¨

-¨What´s their boss´s name? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Nobody knows. The victims are being threatened not to testify, so even the police can´t get a grasp of the situation¨ Makoto said

-¨That´s where you want us to start!?¨ Ann asked outraged

-¨You should be able to pull it off… If you´re really the righteous Phantom Thieves. Their main hub of activity is in Shibuya. That´s all the information I have. You have two weeks. Once that has passed, I´ll submit all the evidence I have to the police and to the school. I hope you don´t let me down¨

-¨I can´t believe this, after how many times Ren stood up for you, you stabbed him in the back? ¨ Ryuji asked pissed

-¨W-What? ¨ Makoto said

-¨He thinks is his fault, what a great friend you turned out to be¨ Ann said sarcastically

-¨I…¨ she looked down

-¨Well, anything to say? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Do you think I wanted to do that to him!? Well, no, I didn´t! ¨ she yelled and ran through the door, and there was Ren

-¨R-Ren¨ Makoto said

-¨Hey¨

They both looked away from the other, both filled with sadness and guilt, Makoto simply kept walking

Ann and Ryuji came through the door

-¨Come on, we should get in touch with Yusuke, fill us in during the way¨ Morgana said

* * *

Once at their usual hideout, they told Yusuke everything that has happened

-¨Urgh…. I´m so mad! ¨ Ann yelled

-¨The mafia? Hm…¨ Yusuke was deep in thought

-¨Can we really do this? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Either way, we have almost no information on our target. This guy´s a crime boss, so I wouldn´t be surprised if he had a Palace, still…¨ Morgana said worry

-¨Isn´t this a prime opportunity for us thought? ¨ Yusuke said

Ann glared at him ¨How!? We´re in huge trouble! ¨

-¨Even after we punished an evil man who seemed to be good, the public did not acknowledge us, however, if we take down an actual criminal, let alone a target the police don´t have answers for..¨

-¨Oh, right…! That might make people believe in us! ¨

-¨I get it! That means even Akechi´ll hafta acknowledge us as the Phantom Thieves! ¨ Ryuji said enthusiastically, he looked at Ren ¨Whaddya say, leader? ¨

-¨Let´s do this, although my decision from yesterday still remains¨

The other looked at each other a bit worry

-¨Our time limit is two weeks, correct? We can´t afford to waste too much time. I´ll ask around Kosei and see if there are any victims¨ Yusuke said

-¨OK, I know some girls who go to Shibuya pretty often. I´ll check with them about it¨ Ann said

-¨All right, then I´m gonna see what I can find on the net, that leaves our school up to Ren and Morgana, you figured out what to do during the whole Kamoshida thing, remember? So don´t go saying that you will quick¨ Ryuji said

-¨I´ll back you up¨ Morgana said

-¨All right, let´s get back together at the end of the week once we´ve got all our info! I´ll get in touch with you guys later! ¨

They all nod in agreement and went their own ways, except for Yusuke

-¨Could I have a moment? ¨ he asked

-¨Sure¨ Ren replied

-¨Well, it´s… I had a yearning to see the ¨Sayuri¨, so, if you are heading homeward, I´ll accompany you¨

-¨Ok¨

And both went to LeBlanc

* * *

Once at LeBlanc, Yusuke took a seat and watched the paint

-¨Ah, the ¨Sayuri¨… it seems to suit this café quite well¨ he said pleased ¨I am glad I chose to live it here¨ he got quiet for a few moments ¨Ren.. I fear I have found myself in quite a horrible mess! ¨

-¨Calm down Yusuke¨

-¨Believe me, I am attempting to withhold my anxiety as much as possible, but to put it bluntly, I am in need of your assistance… Please, listen to what I must say. Throughout my artistic career, there have been moments I´ve struggled with particular motifs or techniques… However, those struggles came to pass on each occasion. Yet now I find myself in a similar situation… but the more I try to escape it, the worse it becomes. It seems I am trapped in what we in the art world call a ¨slump¨

-¨You´re so though on yourself¨ Ren said

-¨My apologies. It seems I got somewhat carried away there, but I simply cannot accept this lack of purpose in my work. That is why I am so upset with my own indecision. Such vague ambition is, in essence, a sin of sorts. I only wish to create a work I can be genuinely proud of. Ren… would you be able to provide me assistance? You have already brought profound change to my world¨

-¨You are giving me too much credit, but I´d be glad to help¨

-¨You would? Wonderful¨ he seemed relieved ¨I am giving you the credit you deserve my friend, I just wish you give yourself the same¨

-¨If you are trying to convince me not to leave, save your breath, I got us into this mess¨

-¨You only followed your heart, if you hadn´t when we first met or when you first met Ann and Ryuji, I don´t want to know what could have happened to all of us¨

-¨You want to know what the ironic part is? That I still feel that she is not that bad¨

-¨I don´t know her as you do but I will trust your judgement as always¨ he looked at his phone ¨I must go now. My curfew approaches. Hope that we can still work together in the future¨

And with that, he left

* * *

 **6/15 Wednesday**

The following day, Makoto was called to the principal´s office

-¨Niijima-kun, What is going on here!? Apparently the damage done by this so-called mafia has even reached our student body! ¨ he said shocked

Makoto grabbed her arm ¨Well…¨

The principal grabbed his head ¨I thought this absurdity was nothing but a joke! Not only are there victims, there are even rumors that some are involved with such crimes. I´ve even received inquiries from their guardians, why is this happening? ¨

-¨Unfortunately, I do not have the answer to that¨ she said

-¨This is the greatest disgrace in the history of this academy… If it were to be discovered¨ he got angry ¨This is a vital issue for the student council! Did I not ask you to resolve it!?¨

-¨I´m… doing the best I can¨

-¨A-And I can trust you!? You must do something about this once! You´re the only one who is reliable around here… Don´t let me down¨

She remained quiet

-¨From what I´ve heard, even the other students are starting to be dissatisfied with you. At this rate, you and I will both lose our roles at this school. Do you understand¨

-¨I do. Please, just give me a little more time¨

She felt worse, if she didn´t do something, she would have sacrificed the closest thing to a friend she ever had for nothing

* * *

 **6/16 Thursday**

After dedicating an entire day in order to get info, they got a lead about a group at Central Street, the gang reunited at their usual spot and decided to split and search

After exploring and getting a tip, he went to find a homeless guy near the station, but before getting there, he found Makoto

-¨You seem to be working hard. Did you find any clues? ¨

-¨I am looking for someone, a homeless person¨

-¨You´re trying to find a homeless person? That´s a good idea, they would know a lot about what goes on this town. I haven´t seen any here, but I would bet there are some in the underground area¨

-¨That is where I am heading¨

And he left, once he finished talking to the homeless, he found that they use weird words as a code, he then went through everything with the rest of the team, he explore the city a bit more, until entering an alley near Big Bang Burger

-¨Hello¨

Ren heard a voice and saw Makoto

-¨Have you made any progress toward finding the boss? ¨ she asked

-¨Shibuya´s a big place, you know? ¨ he replied

-¨Well… you aren´t wrong about that¨

-¨Hey, you two got some time? I have a great job for you¨ a man said

Both turn around and saw some strange guy

-¨It´s really easy. Guess you could call it a delivery job¨

-¨It seems we didn´t have to look very hard in the end¨ Makoto whispered proudly

-¨You are high schoolers, yeah? Don´t you want something more than just your allowances? ¨

-¨Hm… by delivery, do you mean that of suspicious materials? ¨ Makoto asked

Ren cursed in his mind ¨ _Way to be subtle_ ¨

-¨Heh... you are a funny girl¨

-¨So you won´t answer me? Then I was right…¨

-¨Eh¨ the man got close to her ¨What´s up with you anyways? Why´re you asking all these questions, huh? ¨

-¨I´ll call the cops¨ Ren said

-¨Oh¨ Makoto was surprised

-¨It was all a joke. Why would I get worked up over some dumb kids? ¨ he said walking away

-¨Well, you have a bad sense of humor¨ Ren said

-¨What´s that, you punk? ¨ he glared at Ren ¨Bah, I don´t have time for this, seeya!¨

-¨U-Um, If you don´t want to deal with us, we could always go see your boss ourselves¨ Makoto said

-¨You´re really gonna say that, knowing who he is? Heh, no way I believe that. I´m outta here, you guys are annoying me¨

And he left

-¨I´m pretty sure he´s part of the mafia we´re looking for¨ she said

-¨Let´s go after him¨ Ren said

-¨I think we should get some proof before we do that. I tried to trick him into saying something, but he dodged all the traps I was laying down¨ she got flustered ¨By the way… Thanks for standing up for me, now and… before¨

-¨Anytime¨ he looked away a bit, she only grabbed her arm as she was injured

-¨I´m going to go now¨

After she left, Morgana appeared from Ren´s bag

-¨I can´t believe we still didn´t end up with any new information, although, you have some serious guts, all things considered¨

-¨As I said, anytime¨

-¨Let´s stop here for today¨

Ren´s phone ringed, it was the group´s chat, they decided to reunite at the Karaoke tomorrow

* * *

Once Ren got home, his phone ringed again, it was an unknown number

-¨Hello¨

-¨Amamiya-kun? This is Niijima, Makoto Niijima… Thanks. For earlier¨

-¨Wait, how´d you get my number? ¨

-¨I dug it up. I realize I´m apologizing after the fact, but…It just didn´t feel right, keeping it from you, so…¨

-¨It´s ok, glad you are safe¨ he replied

-¨Oh, well… thanks, um…. About what is going on¨

-¨I have to go, I´ll let you know if I find anything¨

-¨But¨

-¨Makoto¨

-¨Huh? ¨

-¨I am not angry with you, just…¨

-¨That´s all, bye¨

She hung up quickly, Ren sighed a bit

-¨Is everything ok? I heard a woman´s voice¨ Sojiro, Ren´s guardian, asked ¨Speaking of, some girl called looking for you around noon. Said she´s the class president, seems she seemed to know you, so I gave her number¨

-¨Yeah, I forgot to give it to her, she was the one who just call¨

-¨You didn´t answer my question though, is everything ok? ¨

-¨Yeah, just complicated¨

-¨Ahhh, the young love¨ he said with a wink

-¨Is not like that¨ Ren said, though his cheek did turn slightly pink

-¨Right, whatever you say¨ and he went back to his work

-¨That Niijima sure is thorough, then again, she called you just to apologize… It´s a bit weird, but maybe she´s not so bad after all¨

-¨Yeah…¨

* * *

 **6/20 Monday**

Days later and thanks to some info of a certain journalist a.k.a. Ichiko Ohya, the gang finally got their target´s name so they decided to reunite, but even after discovering there is a Palace, it was impossible for them to reach it, so what now ?

-¨We ain´t got nothing¨ Ryuji said

-¨Are we out of luck? ¨ Ann asked

-¨It´s no fair his Palace is up in the sky¨ Morgana complained

-¨If only we could contact the real Kaneshiro¨ Yusuke said

Makoto appeared

-¨What do you want? ¨ Ann asked pissed

-¨Nothing in particular. I just saw you all together here¨

-¨That so? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨You seem to be having quite a bit of trouble¨

-¨So you´re here to check on us? You may be the student council president, but when it comes to what we do, you´re useless¨ Ann said

-¨Useless? ¨ Makoto said shocked and remembered something

 **¨Right now, you´re useless to me, all you do is eat away at my life¨**

-¨To be frank, yes¨ Yusuke said

-¨Just stay on your high horse and watch. Or do you wanna eavesdrop, since you are so good at it? ¨

Ren got a bit worry

-¨Just go home Makoto¨ he said

Makoto cursed herself ¨So you wish to get in contact with Kaneshiro, That is what you were just discussing, weren´t you? It seemed you just needed to find out where he is¨

-¨Something like that¨ Ren said

-¨Hey, you don´t gotta answer her honestly¨ Ryuji complained

Once again, Makoto remembered being called useless as well as her own guilt

-¨I´m not¨ she said holding tears

-¨What was that? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Fine. I´ll help you meet Kaneshiro¨ she said with determination and left everybody

-¨What exactly is she planning on doing? ¨ Yusuke wondered

-¨She had a dead-serious look in her eyes¨ Ryuji said

-¨ _Please don´t do anything stupid_ ¨ Ren thought

They all got confused as to what Makoto would do, so they went after her

-¨There are way too many people here¨ Morgana said

-¨We´re never gonna find her¨ Ryuji said a bit worry

-¨Damn it¨ Ren cursed and his phoned ringed

-¨Hello? It´s me… Makoto Niijima¨

-¨Makoto?!¨ Ren yelled, everybody looked at him

-¨Just stay on the phone and listen. Make sure you record the call as well

-¨What are you? ¨ Ren said, everybody got close to his phone

-¨Do you guys know Kaneshiro? ¨ she said as if she was talking to someone

-¨What? ¨ a man said

-¨That idiot…! What´s she doing? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨I heard I could find someone called Kaneshiro If I came to Central Street¨ she said

-¨Central Street! ¨ Ann yelled

-¨She is being too rash! ¨ Yusuke said

Everybody began to run

-¨Hurry! ¨ Ren yelled

* * *

-¨What are you getting at? ¨ an angry man asked to Makoto

-¨He´s blackmailing the students of Shujin Academy, is he not? Tell him if he doesn´t want me talking to the police about it, he´d better agree to meet with me¨

Both men looked at each other

-¨You got a death wish or something? ¨ one of the thugs asked

The thugs put Makoto into a limousine

-¨You better be taking me to Kaneshiro¨ she said

The guys got to the alley where the called was made

-¨Hey, wasn´t that¨ Ryuji said

-¨Contact Kaneshiro-san. Tell him we got a good one¨ one of the thugs said and it was listened by Ren and company

-¨We gotta go after them¨ Ann said

-¨Come on everybody¨ Ren said

They run to the street

-¨Ryuji, get a taxi, I´ll¨ Yusuke take out his sketching book ¨OK. I´ve got their license plate. My sketching skills have come in handy¨

-¨Nice work¨ Ren said

Ryuji started to ask for a taxi, but they all ignored him

-¨Agh, shit, he ignored me! ¨

He got in front of an upcoming taxi ¨Dammit, I said STOP¨ luckily for him, the taxi stopped

-¨Ryuji! ¨ Ann yelled worry

-¨Hurry up and get in! ¨ he barked

-¨Good job Ryuji, you heard him, let´s go¨Ren said

After getting in the taxi, they started to follow the limousine

-¨ _Please Makoto, be safe_ ¨ Ren thought

* * *

 **So that´s the end for now, both our protagonits feel guilty about what is going, would** **Ren** **left the Phantom Thieves? And what would happen to Makoto ? You probably would know the answer to the last question if you played the game but still stay tune to find out**

 **And good, I can´t believe it but we passed the 2000 views, thank you very much for all the support so far, I really love you people, I am glad that you enjoy my story, let´s go for more**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any reviews or send me a PM and I would gladly answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	5. A New Vow, A New Chance

**6/20 Monday**

In a place that looked like some sort of night club, there was an ugly man dressed as some sort of disgusting sugar daddy; he was playing with a phone

-¨So… you´re seriously the student council president of Shujin. You know what happens to anyone that snaps at me, don´t you? ¨

Makoto was restrained by the thugs

-¨So, whose number is this? Your boyfriend?

-¨What in the world?!¨ somebody yelled

The gang entered the hideout

-¨Who the fuck are you? ¨ one of the thugs said

-¨Niijima-san! ¨ Yusuke said

-¨What the hell´d you do to her!?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Oh, I get it¨ Kaneshiro got angry ¨You got followed, you dumb shits! ¨

-¨Let her go already! ¨ Ren yelled, his hand clench so hard that it could pierce his skin

-¨Oh ho ho, who is this, Miss President? your boyfriend ? How adorable¨

He opened a briefcase containing lots of money

-¨That bag you saw the other day- the crocodile one. How much was it? ¨ he asked to a woman sitting next to him

-¨About three million¨ she said

He gave her the money

-¨For reals?!¨ she said happy

-¨Better thank those guys¨

-¨What? ¨ Ryuji asked confused

-¨See this empty space? I´m so pissed that now there´s a three million yen gap here. It pisses me off even more if I don´t fill it up. I´m a perfectionist¨

-¨What the hell are you talking about? ¨ Ren asked ¨And I said let her go¨

-¨Hear you the first time boy, so good luck¨

He took out another phone and took a picture of the group

-¨Come on, you all look so tense¨ he smirked at them ¨I think I´ll call it… ¨Debauchery of Minors at a Club¨. So, can I send this to your school? ¨

-¨That´s¨ Makoto said

-¨Oh, damn, I got booze and cigs in the shot! Maybe some drugs too? Ahh… this is so hilarious¨ he looked at Makoto ¨I feed on dumbshits like you… Understand, pretty little student council president? ¨

-¨You are the dumbshit! ¨ Ren yelled

-¨What was that you punk? ¨ one of the thugs said

-¨Let him be¨ Kaneshiro waved his hand ¨Now listen up. Run your mouth to the police, and I´ll break all of you, starting with your families. I want to give you the usual month, but well, you have such a large group here… Three weeks. Bring three million yen by then. No less. Summer bonuses are around the corner, you know? It´ll be easy if you beg your mommies and daddies. Now get out of my sight. I´m about to have some fun¨

-¨What? The hell with that! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨Don´t bother with him. Makoto´s safety is more important right now¨ Morgana said

The thugs let Makoto go and sent the group away

* * *

Walking down the street, Makoto stopped

-¨I´m so sorry. I didn´t mean to drag you in like this¨ she wiped a tear from her face

-¨I must agree. You should have easily imagined this happening¨ Yusuke said

Ann glared at him ¨Yusuke! ¨

-¨I was so caught up in trying to be useful¨

-¨All right, enough of the blame game! What´s done is done¨ Ryuji said feeling guilty

-¨I´m going to cause trouble for Sis too…¨

-¨Sis? ¨ Ann asked

-¨My older sister has a commendable job, and she´s a much more remarkable person than me. A lot happened after we lost our father three years ago, so it´s just us living together, but I´m still a child, so all I am is a burden to her¨

-¨And that´s why you were so reckless? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨I just wanted to be useful in some way to someone¨

-¨Y´know, I might not get your whole situation, but ain´t a bit off saying that you´re useless to her? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨It´s the true though… In particular, I have to apologize to two of you, first to you, Takamaki-san¨

-¨Eh? ¨

-¨Now that I think on it, the truth about Kamoshida must´ve been covered up by the whole school. I had my suspicions, but… I couldn´t do anything about it. No. I didn´t do anything. Had I cared enough, I could´ve done something…¨

Ann went quiet

-¨And also¨ she looked at Ren ¨To you Amamiya-kun¨

-¨Makoto¨ he said

-¨You stood up for me plenty of times, you only showed me kindness and what did I do? I stabbed you in the back with the blackmailing and everything; you might not say it, but it´s obvious that you are angry with me and hate me, like you don´t have enough problems already? I dragged you into more¨ she sighed ¨People like me… must really be what others call scum of the earth¨

Ren walked to her

-¨Amamiya-Kun? ¨

He embraced her in his arms

-¨Huh? ¨

-¨I said it before, I am not angry with you and I don´t hate you, we are fine, so don´t say that you are useless¨

-¨Ren is right, real scum wouldn´t call themselves that¨ Ann said ¨I´m the same. It´s just like you said before, I was closest to Shiho, but I didn´t do anything. Besides, Kamoshida is the one to blame. Shiho understands that… and I do too¨

-¨Takamaki-san¨

-¨You didn't have a place to belong either… isn´t that right? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Me either? She asked

-¨We won´t let anyone fall victim again¨ Ann said with determination

-¨We are in this together Makoto¨ Ren said and patted her head

-¨Amamiya-kun¨

-¨Call me Ren¨ he let her go and showed her a little smile, Makoto was shocked

-¨Now, what should we do form here? ¨ Ann wondered

-¨I´ll do something about the money! So can we please just drop the case with Kaneshiro¨ she said

-¨No can do. We´re all caught up in this¨ Ryuji said

-¨We can´t have you rushing things on your own anymore and making the situation worse¨ Yusuke said

Ryuji folded his arms ¨If only we could do something about that bank¨

Everybody got alarmed

¨Ryuji! ¨ Yusuke said

-¨Bank? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Oh, right, the bank…! ¨ Morgana said ¨She isn´t useless at all! She may be our key in! ¨

-¨Our key in? What do you mean? ¨ Ann asked

Makoto looked at Morgana ¨A cat? Um, are you all ok..?¨

-¨We´ve become Kaneshiro´s targets. That means we´ve become customers of Kaneshiro´s bank! ¨

-¨I see. The reason why we couldn´t enter before was because we weren´t considered his customers¨ Yusuke said

-¨And wouldn´t you say that she in particular is a special customer? Let´s take her with us. She is responsible for our current situation¨

-¨Whoa, I don´t follow this at all¨ Ryuji said

-¨She risked her life doing something so reckless. At the very least, she has the right to know. Won´t you come with us? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨What? ... Wait. To where? ¨

-¨Wait, where are we going? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Beats me¨ Ann said

* * *

They all hid in order to use the app to go to the Metaverse, once in there, Makoto gasped in surprised for how much everything changed, particularly, the others

-¨A canine?!¨ she referred to Yusuke

-¨It´s Fox¨ he said a bit offended

-¨Be quiet. The Shadows are going to notice us¨ Morgana complained

-¨A monster cat!?¨ she asked

-¨I´m nooooooot¨

-¨That´s Morgana, the cat that was in Ren´s bag. This is what happens when we get here¨

-¨That voice… Takamaki-san? ¨ she looked to her surroundings ¨Where are we?¨

-¨We´re inside Kaneshiro´s… well, the ¨world¨ inside his heart¨

-¨What? ¨

-¨It´s another reality in which Kaneshiro´s distorted desires have materialized¨ Yusuke explained

-¨Another reality? ¨ she asked in disbelief, she looked to certain floating place ¨It´s floating in the air!? TH-This is reality!? My goodness¨ she went quiet for a few seconds ¨I´m sorry, it´s just… But since this really exists, I can´t doubt it…¨ she got her hand on her chin ¨A reality that one´s heart shows…Is it like the application of optical illusions in social cognitive psychology…? ¨

-¨That´s something we have no idea about¨

The group took some minutes to explain everything to Makoto

-¨I see, so ¨stealing one´s heart¨… that may be like overwriting their cognition… I think I kind of get the logic behind it¨

-¨Ain´t she more amazing than you? ¨ Ryuji asked Morgana

-¨W-We´re about the same! ¨ he yelled

-¨Then, does that mean there´s an ATM version of myself somewhere in this world too? ¨

-¨Perhaps. Regardless, we can change Kaneshiro´s heart and make him confess if we steal his Treasure… If it all goes well, that is¨ Morgana said

-¨We´ll make it go well¨ Ryuji said as he stand up ¨Everyone´ll notice us for sure if we take someone like Kaneshiro down

-¨Our justice will also become resolute¨ Yusuke said

-¨Think we´d be able to give courage to those in need if it happens? ¨ Ann asked

-¨For the sake of those in need, huh… You sound like my father¨

-¨Your father? ¨ Ann asked

-¨No, don´t mind me¨ she said, Ren got curious though ¨You want to go to that bank, right? Let´s go then. If I´ve become a customer of that bank, then they´ll have to let me in¨

She got near the bank, which it lowered and unrolled a carpet

-¨It came to us! ¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨It´s just as I calculated! ¨ Morgana exclaimed proudly

They all walked through the carpet and arrived to the entrance of the bank

-¨You know how you can use your card to get into banks during afterhours? I thought that I´d be able to get in since I have the same identity as such customers, I´m Kaneshiro´s source of revenue, after all¨ Makoto said

-¨Ah, that makes sense¨ Yusuke said

-¨But wow… This place is huge¨ Ann said surprised

-¨I rarely gotta go to the bank, so… This´s makin me kinda nervous¨ Ryuji admitted

-¨Being in a bank with costumes like these is so obvious- we´re totally robbers¨

-¨You got that right¨ Ryuji said

-¨Yeah, your outfits are indeed…. Unique¨ Makoto said, she was particularly interested in Ren´s outfit, off everybody, he looked the most like an actual thief

-¨It seems there would be a lot of Shadows from here on¨

-¨Huh? What´s that about? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Enemies attack us here¨ Ann said

-¨I see… I´ve trained in aikido. Don´t worry, I can defend myself¨

-¨Self-defense won´t do you much good against Shadows, but then again, it´s better than nothing¨ Morgana said

-¨Stay close to us just in case¨ Ren said, Makoto nod

-¨We have to go in from the front door, don´t we? I´m an honorary customer, so I better act like one… I will be useful for you guys¨

* * *

Everybody entered the bank and as soon as they did it, Shadow/Security Guards approached them

-¨What business do you have? ¨ one of them asked

-¨I´d like to speak with the president¨ Makoto said

-¨Excuse me, but do you have an appointment? ¨

-¨I need to talk to him. Now let me through! ¨

-¨Let them pass¨ a voice said through the speakers

The guards move

-¨That voice… It´s Kaneshiro! ¨

-¨You mean a bank has a president? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨They make good money¨ Yusuke said

The group went straight to the Reception Room, where a large pile of money was on a table

-¨How many beef bowls could I eat with this? ¨ Ryuji asked surprised

-¨How many curries and coffees would the boss and I have to sell to achieve this amount? ¨ Ren asked surprised as well

-¨Unauthorized entry, property damage, and other disturbances. That comes to three million yen in total. You´re here regarding that, correct, Miss Beautiful President? ¨ a TV turned on; showing Shadow Kaneshiro ¨It must be quite tough gathering so much money. I´d be willing to give you a loan, you know¨

-¨You gonna call it off then? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨No, a loan. The interest rate is ten percent a day¨

-¨Ten percent interest a day… Um… Uhhh… That means… One day is¨ Ann tried to do the maths

-¨It´s three hundred thousand yen¨ Makoto said

-¨There´s no need to be alarmed. I have a more manageable option for people like you¨

-¨That was you plan from the beginning, wasn´t it? ¨

-¨Quite the impressive insight, Niijima-san…. Or should I say, the younger sister of the beautiful prosecutor Sae Niijima? ¨

Everybody looked at Makoto

-¨How do you know that? ¨

-¨Please don´t underestimate our intelligence network¨ an smirk appeared on his face ¨My, what wonderful goods have come falling into my lap¨

-¨Don´t be ridiculous! ¨ Ann yelled

-¨Young women are so useful. They lack physical strength and are dumb. It´s as if they only exist to be devoured by the just might be the rule since the dawn of history¨

-¨Disgusting¨ Ren said

-¨You truly are despicable¨ Yusuke said

-¨You better be ready, Kaneshiro! We´re gonna snatch your Treasure from you! ¨ Ryuji declared with confidence

-¨Don´t make me laugh, you petty thieves. My citadel has the highest security installed in it¨

Lots of Shadows showed up

-¨Anyone will do anything for money. I´ll rob you of your lives as easily as I breathe air. Get them! ¨

Two Chivalrous Guard attack them

-¨Suzuku! ¨ Ren yelled and a great bird appeared

-¨What the? ¨ Makoto was astonished

\- ¨Marin Karin¨ a pink energy sphere wrapped the enemy, brainwashing him ¨Mona, Panther, Skull, with me, Fox, you cover Makoto¨

-¨On it¨ Everybody said

The others took their battle position

-¨Whoop them Persona! ¨ Ryuji called his Persona and powered up Akira´s attack

-¨Zorro! ¨ Mona summoned his persona and used wind against the enemy, doing some damage

-¨Get ready¨ Ann called her Persona, Carmen, and with an skill, she made another of the guards go to sleep, the other that was brainwashed attack its partner

-¨Hey, I think you are supposed to fight us, not between you¨ Ren mocked them

Meanwhile

-¨I am thou¨ Yusuke called his Persona and used bufu to freeze the enemies ¨Easy¨

To said that Makoto was surprised would be short, this was beyond her imagination, but there was one thing that caught her attention

-¨Too slow! ¨ Ren yelled as he dodged an enemy attack

There was something different about Ren, it was probably either the heat of the battle or perhaps some mechanism for defense , but here he was mocking the enemies despite they were three times taller than him

After some fighting, no matter how many they defeat, more kept coming

-¨What the- There´s no end to them. Have they really been hired with money!?¨ Morgana complained ¨We´re in trouble at this rate! Let´s run! ¨

* * *

They ran all the way back to the entrance, but more guards appeared

-¨There´s no end to them! ¨ Ann said

-¨You seem to be in quite a pickle¨ Kaneshiro said behind them, they turned back

-¨How dare you sneak around, Kaneshiro! ¨ Morgana complained

-¨Those would be my words. However, I do thank you for providing me with such wonderful goods. It´s time you disappear¨ he clapped his hands and more Shadows appeared

-¨Having one impertinent brat disappear is enough to set an example in that other world¨

-¨Please stop! ¨ Makoto yelled

-¨I´ll eliminate others besides my goods. You´ve no need to worry. Your sister is quite a beauty though. I´ll make sure to make her my personal slave. Once I get bored. I´ll just sell her off. Oh, poor Sis. She could´ve been successful, if only her younger sister wasn´t so dumb¨

-¨My sister has nothing to do with this! ¨

-¨Then you better start taking customers tomorrow. All you gotta do is endure it and do as you´re told¨

-¨Endure it. Do as I´m told¨ she whispered

-¨You´ll earn three million yen in no time. Although, your life and everything along with it will be a complete wreck by them¨

He laughed like a maniac

Makoto clench her fist ¨I´ve been listening to you go on and on… Shut your damn mouth, you money-grubbing asshole! ¨

Everybody´s eyes went wide

-¨And here I thought Ryuji deserve the prize por insulting¨ Yusuke said as a matter of fact

 **¨Have you decided to tread the path of strife…? ¨**

A voice in Makoto´s mind said

-¨Yes… come to me¨

 **¨Very well. Let us proceed with our contract at once¨**

Her eyes went into a kind of goldish light and she grabbed her head, she was groaning in pain

 **¨I am thou, thou art I… You have finally found you own justice. Please… Never lose sight of it again¨**

She yelled and stump upon the floor breaking it, an iron mask cover her face

 **¨This memorable day marks your graduation from your false self¨**

She removed her mask and a blue flame surrounded her

-¨What the hell? ¨ Kaneshiro asked

An motorcycle appeared out of the flame and its ride was no one else than Makoto, her outfit consisting of a two-toned skintight suit with a long scarf, a dark gray corset-style leather breastplate, shoulder and knee pads with spikes and white gloves, she had a look of determination on her eyes

-¨A Persona? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨No dude… That´s a bike¨ Ryuji said with his mouth wide open

-¨Amazing¨ Ren had proudly smile on his face

-¨I can feel it… My ¨self¨… Me… Gun it¨

She charged her bike and mow down the Shadows

-¨Wow… Nice! ¨ Ann said

-¨Wh-What is that? ¨ Morgana was shocked ¨I´ve never seen anything like it¨

Kaneshiro was sweating but he quickly fixed his suit ¨You better earn your keep, or else I´ll kill you! ¨

-¨I will not lose heart again, ever. I will go full speed, non-stop... Right, Johanna? ¨

The group got ready to fight

-¨Don´t get all cocky just because I normally behave myself! I am DONE playing nice! Let´s go, Johanna! Full throttle! ¨

She used an energy attack that looked like an explosion, it make one of the enemies bend down

-¨Keep it up¨ Ren said and she did it again

Ren summoned Suzuku and used Marin Karin, causing the guards to attack each other, but they didn´t give up, one of the Shadows used Mabufula and attack the thieves with ice

-¨You are gonna have to try harder¨ Makoto said

-¨Here I go¨ Ann used Dormina to caused one of the enemy to sleep and Makoto followed up with Frei and took down the Floodbringer Demon

-¨Marakunda! ¨ Ren yelled and blue orbs wrapped the enemies ¨Their defense is lowered, let´s finish them¨

-¨With pleasure¨ Ryuji called his persona and electrocuted the remaining enemy, the others following him and finishing the battle

-¨We know how to get in now. Our objective´s been accomplished! ¨ Morgana said

-¨But how are we getting out? ¨ Ann asked

-¨There´s only one exit, right? ¨

-¨Sup, Miss Post-Apocalyptic Rider¨ Ryuji said

-¨Miss what? ¨ Ren asked confused

-¨Do you want to get smack¨ she threatened ¨I´m going on ahead, so follow me! ¨

She used her bike and crushed the door on her way

-¨Daaamn¨ Ryuji was astonished

-¨Ok, we have a path! ¨ Morgana said and turned into a car ¨Get in¨ and left

* * *

Once they were back in the real world, Makoto was panting

-¨Man, talk about wild… That was no aikido- that was some hardcore ass whoopin! ¨ Ryuji clapped his hands

-¨I am so not pissing her off… I feel like she´ll rip my arm off¨ Ann said and sighed

-¨She does exude that aura¨ Yusuke admitted

-¨Oh, stopped it! ¨ Makoto got up ¨This is the most exhausted I´ve ever gotten these past few years… But it felt pretty great¨

-¨So long as you hit the Shadows and not us, we are fine with it¨ Ren said with a smirk

-¨Not you too Ren¨ she sighed ¨I never thought I´d become part of the Phantom Thieves I was after. Sis might faint if she found out¨

-¨You mentioned her earlier¨ Yusuke said

-¨She´s a prosecutor for the district and she´s investigating the Phantom Thieves¨

-¨Wait, ain´t that bad!?¨ Ryuji asked alarmed

-¨No need to worry. A normal investigation would never lead them to a world like that. Then again, it must´ve been fate for this happen¨

-¨What do you mean? ¨ Ann asked

-¨I can´t be like my sister. I had a feeling that there´d come a time when we wouldn´t see eye to eye anymore. I´m thankful to have a sister who works so hard, but… there are times I feel sorry for her too. And after hearing my Persona´s voice, I clearly understand how I feel now¨

-¨It appears you´re not as reserved as you make yourself seem¨ Yusuke said

-¨I was just doing whatever the adults told me to¨

-¨Won´t she be perfect as our advisor? She´s fearless and has a sharp mind¨ Yusuke said

-¨ _Perhaps she might be a better leader_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨Sounds good to me! We´ve needed someone like that for a while now! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨I´d be honored if I can help out¨

-¨We had way too much testosterone anyway, so I feel much better hav¨ Ann said but Makoto phoned ringed, she took it out and check it

-¨It´s from Kaneshiro. He´s reminding us of our debt. So the Kaneshiro over here doesn´t know what happened inside the Palace¨

-¨That´s right, but his Palace will be affected if the real Kaneshiro´s cognition changes. We can´t be lax¨ Morgana warmed

-¨It seems it´d be best to avoid unnecessary contact with him until then¨

-¨Three weeks left, huh…¨ Ryuji said

-¨There´s that security system too¨ Yusuke added

-¨But if we pull this off, it´ll definitely be great! ¨ Ann said happy

-¨We´ll crush him like a fly. I´ll make him regret making me angry¨

-¨Pretty sure you already did that¨ Ren whispered

-¨Excuse me? ¨

-¨Nothinggggggggggggggg¨ he had a cocky smile on his face

-¨Anyways, let´s begin our operation tomorrow! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨I´ll be waiting for the call to meet up¨

And once finished the reunion, they parted ways

* * *

 **6/21 Tuesday**

Ren was in the train station waiting to go to school, Makoto approached him

-¨Good morning¨

-¨Hi, how are you? ¨

-¨Fine, although I´ve been thinking about Personas and Palaces since yesterday. That floating bank really reflects Kaneshiro´s personality¨

-¨First a castle, then a museum and now a floating bank, what´s next? A space station? ¨

-¨Please don´t make me think about that possibility, but regardless, we should get moving soon. Why don´t we go to the Palace today? ¨

-¨Let me think about it¨ he said

-¨Understood. I´m sure you have your reasons as the leader¨

-¨Temporary leader¨

-¨Huh? What do you mean? ¨

-¨You´ll see soon¨ the train arrived and they both walked in, Makoto was worry as to what Ren meant

* * *

Later during lunch, Ann and Makoto gathered at the Student Council Room

-¨I´m sorry for asking you here like this¨

-¨Oh no, it isn´t a problem… I actually find it refreshing to be asked to the student council room, although, it´s somewhat nerve-racking as well¨

-¨I think I´m a bit nervous myself¨ she stood up ¨Anyway, um… I wanted to apologize. I´m… really sorry for everything¨

Makoto was surprised ¨What do you mean? ¨

-¨You know how I blamed you for Kamoshida´s sexual harassment? Well, I wanted to apologize for that… I´ve honestly been meaning to this whole time¨

-¨Takamaki-san¨

-¨I realized later that Shiho was calling out for me… and I wasn´t there to help her. I didn´t want to admit my own guilt… so I took it out on you, Niijima-senpai. I´m… very sorry¨ and she bowed

-¨Hey, there is no need for that. In fact, I think the two of us are pretty similar¨

-¨Huh? ¨

-¨I was unable to save anyone. Not Suzui-san and not any of Kaneshiro´s victims. I kept telling myself I wasn´t at fault because I was simply following orders… But that was all a lie. It felt like I would be admitting my own worthlessness had I not shifted the blame off of myself. Fear of that worthlessness was probably why I acted so harshly towards you and your friends. I´m deeply sorry as well¨

-¨I see¨

Both remained quiet, until Ann laughed a bit ¨In that case, wanna call it even? ¨

-¨Even? ¨ she chuckled ¨You´re right… How about we leave this conversation in the past? How about we get something to eat before we go home for the night? ¨

-¨Ohh, I know a place! There´s a crepe shop at Central Street that totally stuffs their crepes! ¨

-¨Want to split one? ¨

-¨Mmmm, let´s each get a whole one and then we can go half and half on those¨

-¨But before that, I want to ask something that got me worry¨

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨On my way here, I ran into Ren and he mentioned something about only being temporary leader¨

-¨What?!... Oh no, he can´t still be thinking about leaving¨

-¨I figured as much, that´s what you meant when you said that he was blaming himself when I tried to blackmail you all¨

Ann nod ¨We are going to be in lots of trouble without him¨

-¨I want to help him, after everything he did for me, I won´t allow this¨

-¨Yeah, Ryuji Yusuke and I were thinking the same¨

-¨Good, next time we have our meeting we have to talk to him¨ both nod in agreement ¨Ren _, I won´t betray your trust again, I am going to help you_ ¨ Makoto thought with determination

* * *

 **And that´s the end of that, I must admitted that i am tired nut it was all worth since we got to the what many believe is the most badass Persona awakening in the whole game, a fuucking motorcycle as a persona, how cool is that? And also this was my first attempt to write a battle scene, was it good? I am not used to write them so let me know what you think**

 **In the next chapter, the infiltration will begin and what would the gang do about** **Ren** **? Would Makoto be able to help him? Stay tune to find out**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave reviews or send me a PM and I would gladly answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	6. A Heated Infiltration, A Heated Argument

**6/23 Thursday**

After taking a few days to prepare themselves, the gang reunited at their usual spot

-¨I never imagined that I would end up helping the Phantom Thieves. Things would get interesting if my sister ever found out¨ Makoto said

-¨Theres no time to be getting sentimental here¨ Morgana said

-¨Yes, I understand. I do have one request about all of this though. Can you teach me how to be a phantom thief? Like… about the Metaverse, for example¨

-¨Simply put, that world is formed of a persons cognition. There, you can change peoples heart¨ Yusuke said

-¨Yeah, Ive gathered that much from going there once, but the method of transportation still eludes me… I mean, its a smartphone navigation app…¨

-¨You only need a name, a location, and a distortion. After the first entry, the Palace is bookmarked¨

-¨You really just make it sound like an ordinary app… Arent there any dangers associated with it?¨

-¨Dont worry about that!¨ Ryuji exclaimed Weve already been a bunch of times and¨

-¨Thats not what I mean. Its a navigation app, right? Couldnt someone easily access our history on the server?¨

Everybody looked at her

-¨Wait, why are you looking at me like that…? Has nobody thought of this before!?¨

-¨I…¨ Yusuke did not know what to say

-¨Now shes catchin me off guard too¨ Ryuji complained

-¨And we dont know where it came from, right? It showed up on my phone without any input from me. Do you know anything about it, Ren?¨

-¨A long-nose man…¨

-¨What…?¨ she was confused

-¨ _I want to tell her the truth, but its tough to explain Igor has been sending out the app_ ¨he thought

-¨I dont fully understand, but I dont think we have to worry about people accessing our data¨ Morgana said

-¨Well, Sis doesnt know who the Phantom Thieves are, so I suppose our information is safe for now¨

* * *

After finishing their discussion they went to Kaneshiros Palace, but there was still one pending issue

-¨So, what am I going to be called?¨ Makoto asked ¨You were all using code names, werent you?¨

-¨Youre quite perceptive¨ Yusuke said

-¨This times hard one…¨ Ryuji scratched his head ¨Maybe something like ¨Shoulder Pads?¨

-¨Why in the world did you focus on that?¨ Morgana asked

-¨I refused to be called that¨ Makoto said angry

-¨What about Rider?¨ Yusuke suggested

-¨Sounds too much like a smuggler. Next¨

-¨Fixer¨ Ann said

-¨Im not a mastermind though. Next… Wont you give me something better to work with?¨

-¨She reminds me of an empress¨ Morgana said surprised and looked at Ren ¨You got anything, Joker?¨

He thought for a few seconds ¨Queen¨

-¨Whoa, I totally see it!¨ Ann said

-¨It fits so well that Im at a loss for words here¨ Morgana said

-¨Queen… It has a nice ring to it¨ she said pleased ¨I like it. Lets go with that. Now then, could you explain to me the strategy for this mission?¨

-¨Strategy?¨ Ryuji asked

Makoto gasped in surprised ¨You dont have one? Wait. The Phantom Thieves were acting without plans!?¨

-¨We do have plans¨ Ren said

-¨Oh, good¨ she sighed in relief

-¨They are just improvised¨ he added

Now she was more than worry

Morgana shaked nervously ¨Uhh… We pretty much looked around the area, I provide navigation when needed, and then…¨

-¨If we run into Shadows, we beat the shit outta em!¨ Ryuji finished

-¨Very well then. I feel like Ill be useful for sure. It seems my role is to be the brain of this team. Ill analyze Monas information and give out orders¨ she got angry ¨Any objections?¨

-¨N-None, Queen!¨ Ryuji said a bit scared

-¨I bet Skulls definitely the type thatll be under a girls thumb¨ Ann said

-¨Mona, will you begin navigating us?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Y-Yes, Queen!¨ he said scared as well

-¨Him too, it seems¨ Yusuke said

-¨This is going to be one long infiltration¨Ren said

* * *

They started to move and went straight to the front door, where the first problem showed up

-¨What the…?¨ Ryuji said

-¨It seems as though they didnt want to leave that gaping hole¨ Yusuke said

-¨But… we cant get in now¨ Ann said worry

-¨Sorry… I… think I might have taken it a little too far…¨ Makoto said ashamed

-¨No, you saved us¨ Ren said

-¨Thats right. We would have been in serious danger had it not been for Queens actions¨ Morgana said

-¨Th-Thanks¨ she felt relieved

-¨Let us search for a new infiltration point, Joker¨ Yusuke said

They explore the area for a bit and discovered that the statue was actually a door to a hidden passage, they went inside

-¨I would say given this interior design… we are inside the bank. It seems our plan went well¨ Yusuke said

They started to run and arrive to the entrance hall from last time

-¨There are lots of enemies. Try to be careful, OK?¨ Morgana said

They kept exploring, until they saw a Shadow using an elevator

-¨It looks like there are lower floors in here too¨ Ann said

-¨Hm, but that elevator is lacking a control panel¨ Yusuke said

-¨They probably control it from a security room. Its simple, but effective measure of screening¨ Morgana said

-¨That must mean they really dont want anyone going down there¨ Makoto pointed out

They climb up some stairs, until

-¨H-Hold on a second! What is that!?¨ Ann panicked, everybody hid behind the statues

-¨A Shadow in the shape of a dog… it seems this place has its own watchdogs…¨ Yusuke said

-¨Im not sure I can handle that…¨ Morgana said

-¨You mean cause you are a cat?¨ Ryuji mocked

-¨I meant cause it might be quicker or smarter than other enemies!¨ he yelled ¨J-Just be careful, Joker!¨

* * *

They used a vent to go to the Monitoring Room

Ren quickly moved and ambushed the Shadow, and 4 Orobas showed up

-¨Ill start¨ Ren run and slash the enemy with his dagger

-¨Queen!¨ he yelled

-¨Johanna¨ she summoned her Persona and used Mafrei to launch a nuclear attack to all the enemies ¨Panther¨

-¨Persona¨ she yelled and burn the enemies with Maragi and Ryuji used Rampage after her

The Orobas used maragi to try to burn them, luckily Ann wasnt much affected due that it was a fire attack, but Ren got burned

-¨Joker!¨ Makoto yelled worry

-¨Its fine¨ he called Arsene and used Media to heal his teammates

-¨Lets finish this¨ Both Ryuji and Ann used their Personas to attack the enemy

-¨Dream Needle¨ bunch of needles attack the last enemy, finishing the battle

-¨Everybody all right?¨ Ren asked, they all nod in agreement

-¨What about you?¨ Makoto asked ¨You were inflicted with burn¨

-¨I work in a café, I get burnt sometimes¨ he said as it was not that important

-¨But¨

-¨Besides, look¨ Morgana showed her medicine that cured burn

-¨Oh, good thing we are prepared then¨ she looked around ¨This appears to be some kind of monitoring room. I hope we can find clues in here…¨

A shiny object caught Ryujis attention ¨Hey guys, I think I found something! Aint this some kinda keycard?¨

-¨And over here is a map. As expected, there seems to be quite a large basement floor¨ Yusuke said as he grabbed the map

-¨Id bet thats where the Treasure is¨ Morgana said

-¨However, only a portion of it is depicted here. Unless, we can obtain another map, we wont know for certain¨

-¨Lets see if there is anywhere to use this keycard¨ Makoto suggest

They used the keycard to open the door

-¨All right, its open¨ Ryuji said

-¨Good, I was worry that we would have to use the vent again, I dont want to find any spiders¨ Ann said

-¨Come on, lets push through our fears and¨ Makoto felt shivers in her back, as if something was crawling through it ¨Guys, I have a spider in my back! Take it off¨ she yelled and pass her hands through it, but she felt nothing on it ¨What?¨

Ren started to laugh ¨Got you¨ he showed a pen that he pass through her back

Ryuji laughed as well ¨Dude, good one¨

-¨I thought you were better than that my friend¨ Yusuke said, even though there was a grin on his face

-¨Seriously?¨ Ann asked pissed

-¨Joker! That wasnt funny at all!¨ Makoto glared at him

-¨Sorry, it was a good opportunity¨ he had a smirk in his face

-¨Wow, you sure got guts Joker¨ Morgana said

-¨Whats an innocent joke between friends?¨ Ren asked

-¨I will get my revenge, remember¨ Makoto said

-¨As you said my queen¨ he bowed, Makoto rolled her eyes

* * *

They moved again and found a room where they saw the roof of the elevator

-¨It has to be the one theyre controlling externally. So this is right above it¨ Morgana said

-¨So what, this is the control room or something? Whats the point of coming here?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨We can get on the elevator¨ Ren said

-¨Perceptive as usual, Joker¨ Morgana said proudly ¨We should be able to ride on top of the elevator¨

-¨It does sound like that plan will take us further down¨ Makoto said

They used the elevator and went down

-¨So, is this the basement?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨All security, listen up!¨ a voice said through the speakers

-¨Is that Kaneshiro…!?¨ Makoto asked

-¨It looks like some rats have infested this place! Under no circumstances let them further down! Strengthen security as much as you can! Understood?¨

-¨It seems painfully obvious where the Treasure is now¨ Yusuke said

-¨But the map form earlier doesnt show that much… I wonder if theres another one somewhere¨ Ann said

* * *

They continue their exploration until finding a Safe Room

-¨Lets take a break¨ Ren said

They either took seat or stretch their muscles

-¨How are you guys holding up?¨ Ren asked

-¨I am still fine and the rest seems the same, so we can go on¨ Ryuji said

-¨Yes, in fact, we would like to take this chance to discuss something with you¨ Makoto said

-¨Oh? What is it?¨

Everybody else nod in agreement

-¨Its about your recent decision regarding you leaving the team¨

Ren sighed ¨We are not having this conversation, I made up my mind¨

-¨As I said days ago, you are not thinking straight¨ Yusuke said

-¨Oh, I am thinking straight, doing the best for all of you and I dont know what you guys are worrying about, you have Mona, he was the one who taught us everything we know about being Phantom Thieves and you have Queen, who is probably the smartest person in this room¨

-¨While it is true that you would have never survived without my knowledge as well as my natural charm¨ Morgana said, everybody just rolled their eyes ¨There are other important things¨

-¨The cat is right, none of us would be here if it werent for you, you cant just say that you are going to quit¨ Ryuji said

-¨I am only quitting the team, I would still try to help people, but on my own¨

-¨Even you have your limits Joker, you cant do everything on your own¨ Ann said

-¨Maybe, youll never know, but one thing I do know is that I wont get you into problems, I already did that once, not going to do it again¨

-¨The only one who got us into problems is me!¨ Makoto said, everybody looked at her ¨I am the one who started this, you only followed your heart when you stand by my side or are you saying that it was a mistake?¨

-¨No, of course not, thanks to you Queen, we have the chance to stop Kaneshiro, you prove yourself to be a good person but what if the next person I met is not like you? What if, because of me, I end up bringing somebody who would shoot us in the head?

-¨How do you know?!¨ she asked angry ¨How do you know what is going to happen? Is just as Skull said, we are here thanks to you¨

-¨But¨

-¨You once told me that you dont jump to conclusions when you met somebody, that you decide to get to know them and is thanks to that kindness that I can help people and I will be a fool if I am not going to help my friend after everything he has done for me…¨ she got quiet for a moment ¨You said you forgive me, that we are all in this together, or was it all lie?¨

Ren got quiet, he couldnt counter that, he meant every word he said, he couldnt lie, especially to her

-¨Just let me know when you are ready to move¨ he got up and went straight to the door, not looking at the others

The rest of the team only exchange looks among them, Makoto have a look of determination in her eyes, meaning that she was sure that Ren will make the right choice

* * *

They continue their exploration, avoiding cameras along the way, until reaching a particular door

-¨Is this some kinda vault?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨According to the map, theres a great deal more beyond here¨ Makoto said

-¨Then this is not a vault, but a partition of sorts. The terminals there must be how you open it¨ Yusuke said

-¨B-But both of them have keyholes¨ Ann said

-¨I suppose that means well need two keys to pass through here¨ Makoto said

-¨For real? Ugh, its a pain in the ass how secure this place is¨ Ryuji complained

-¨Its because is important¨ Ren said

-¨It would seem thats correct. This may lead further down, just as Kaneshiro had mentioned¨ Yusuke said

-¨Yeah, youre probably right… Lets look for those keys!¨ Morgana said

They found out that two strong Shadows had the keys, thanks to Makotos idea; they decided to use the Monitoring Room in order to split them

-¨Ok, stay quiet during this¨ Makoto started ¨Come in, security room! This is the Monitoring Room! Weve been ambushed by intruders! Requesting backup, immediately! One person would be perfect!¨

-¨Roger that! Well send someone your way at once!¨ the Shadow said

-¨And there we go! All we need to do now is wait for the enemy¨

-¨Good job¨ Ren said

After a few minutes, the Shadow arrived

-¨Hm! ? Theres no one here?¨

-¨Not exactly¨ Ryuji said

-¨Surprise¨ Ren said and attack the Shadow

-¨This was a trap!? You bastards!¨ the Shadow transformed

-¨Persona!¨ Ren called Arsene and used Sukunda, surrounding the enemy with a greenish/blackish orb

The Tornado Devil decided to charge its attack to compensate the loss of speed

-¨Persona!¨ Makoto used Frei against it ¨Panther, see if you can do anything about its attack increased¨

-¨Leave it to me¨ she called Carmen and used Dekaja

-¨Whoop them Persona!¨ Ryuji called Captain Kidd and used Zio, which was the enemy weakness, knocking it off balance, the chance for an All-Out Attack has appeared

-¨This is it!¨ Ryuji yelled, they all attacked at extreme speed, but it wasnt enough

-¨Have enough?¨ Ren asked ¨Shiisaa¨ Ren summoned another Persona and just like Ryuji, he used Zio ¨Go Down!¨

It was time for one last All-Out Attack ¨Lets go¨ and the enemy was finally down

-¨The Shows Over¨ he said after the battle was over

-¨Oooh, he had a key!¨ Morgana exclaimed proudly

-¨Guess that went pretty well, huh?¨ Ryuji said

-¨That means there should only be one Shadow in the Security Room!¨ Makoto said ¨Lets snatch the other key from it while we can!¨

They went after the other guard and were able to get the other key

-¨Perfect, weve now obtained both keys!¨ Yusuke said proudly

-¨Oh, hold on a second¨! something caught Makoto attention ¨Doesnt this map have a little more information than ours?¨

-¨Ah, right you are! Well done, Queen!¨ Morgana said

-¨Maybe it can tell us what the bank is like further down¨ Ann said

-¨You see where the Treasure is?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Well, the most suspicious area would be the deepest part. Look here, theres an elevator that leads down. The treasure must be past there¨ Morgana said

-¨This map seems to indicate that the area beyond the partition is rather large as well¨ Yusuke said

-¨We need to be careful¨ Morgana said

* * *

They reached the Laundering Office and further down, was Shadow Kaneshiro with a guard

-¨Kaneshiro!¨

-¨Y-You bastards… How did you get this far!? What about my security!?¨ he said angry

-¨Sorry, that shit was piece of cake for us!¨ Ryuji said

-¨Well, I wouldnt say it was that simple¨ Yusuke said

-¨H-Hey, finish off these vermin here! Keep them away from the elevator at all costs!¨

-¨Lets dance¨ Ren said

Three enemies appeared

-¨Arsene!¨ Ren used Frei against the Floodbringer Demon, knocking it off; he changed to Shiisaa and used Zio against the Tornado Devil, knocking it off as well

-¨Leave it to you!¨ he said while performing the Baton Pass with Ryuji, who used Zio against the last enemy for some damage

One of the Shadows counter with Mabufula but it didnt do that much

-¨Charge Johanna!¨ Queen yelled while using Mafrei, followed by a frei attacked

-¨This is my other self!¨ Yusuke used bufu and ice hit the golden enemy

One of the Shadows attacked Ren, but thanks to his Persona, he felt almost nothing

-¨That tickles¨ he said with a grin, he used some medicine for his allies

The battle went on and the Phantom Thieves were victorious

-¨Where is Kaneshiro!?¨Makoto asked

-¨Grr, he took off while we were busy fighting¨ Ryuji said pissed

Yusuke took something from the floor ¨Yes, but… he seems to have been in a hurry. He left this behind. Its a journal, let us see what lies inside¨

Inside of the journal, were numbers and letters

-¨The pages afterward have been torn out as well. Could it be a code of some sort?¨ Makoto asked

-¨If were not gonna figure this shit out now, we should just keep going forward, yeah?¨ Ryuji said

-¨Considering Kaneshiros reaction, this elevator should lead us to the innermost of the bank. Lets make sure were ready for whatever awaits!¨ Morgana said

They used the elevator and went down, where they found a Safe Room; they decided to stop for today and go back to the real world, once back, they went their own ways

* * *

Makoto was at her room, chatting in her phone, it was a chat she along with Ryuji, Yusuke and Ann created to see what to do with Ren

 **Ryuji: So, what do you think?**

 **Ann: I dont know, Ren does seem to be sure about it, he wont listen to us.**

 **Yusuke: This situation is harder than I expected.**

 **Ryuji: Damn it, why cant the moron see it?!**

 **Makoto: Im sorry, this is my entire fault.**

 **Ann: Enough with the blame game, nobody did anything wrong and Ren knows that, hell, you were right about what you said at the Safe Room.**

 **Makoto: Thank you Ann.**

 **Yusuke: I agree with Ann, besides, as much as it pains us, our priority is to steal Kaneshiros heart, well deal with the aftermath once we get there.**

The Phantom Thieves Chat received a message, it was from Ren

 **Ren: Hi guys, great work today… Listen, sorry to worry you all, I was so lock in myself that I didnt see what I was doing, so I hope you can forgive me, lets keep pushing forward… together, good night.**

The others were surprised

 **Ann: Did you guys read it?**

 **Ryuji: Yeah, the guy is finally getting it, took him long enough**

 **Yusuke: Perhaps this is a signal, lets way for tomorrow**

 **Ann: Yeah, good night**

Everybody said good night, Makoto was about to sleep as well, until she got a call, it was from Ren

-¨R-Ren?¨

-¨Hi Makoto, you probably have already read my message¨

-¨Y-Yeah¨

-¨Again, sorry to worry you all, especially you, but you were right, I wont back out with my word, so thank you for made me realize it¨

-¨You are welcome and thank you very much for staying with us, I would be sad if my first mission would be your last¨

-¨Dont worry¨

-¨And besides… I still have to get my revenge for what happened today¨

-¨Oh ho ho, well, good luck your majesty¨

-¨Good night¨

-¨You too¨

Makoto hung up, she finally helped her friend, she was extremely happy, as for Ren, he felt happy too, knowing that she was looking out for him

* * *

 **And thats the end for now, so Ren is staying, yay, good work Makoto, a little moment here and there between them as they go through Kaneshiro palace, waht would happen next? Stay tune to find out**

 **And good nes, we have passed the 3000 views, Once again, I thank you all who read/favorite/follow and review my story, you people are the best and I feel lucky knowing that you like my job, lets go for more**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any reviews or send me a PM and I would gladly aswer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	7. A Battle That Proves Friendship

**Special shout out to Dad of War, check his Akira x Makoto fic, really awesome**

 **Anyway, enjoy**

* * *

 **6/24 Friday**

After more exploration, they finally arrived to where Kaneshiro´s Treasure was located, a white orb was floating

-¨Found it. It´s right here! ¨ Morgana said

-¨I don´t see anything¨ Makoto said

-¨From here on we´re gonna need this calling card thing¨ Ryuji said

-¨A calling card… I see…Making the target believe that the Treasure is in danger will cause it to materialize. That´s quite a bold trick¨

-¨Huh? She understood? ¨ Ann said a bit disappointed

-¨Joker, we´ll defer to you regarding its timing¨ Yusuke said

-¨OK, guys, let´s get ready for the heist! ¨ Morgana said with determination

* * *

They left the Palace and return to the real world, once back, Ren got something to say

-¨Listen guys¨ he grabbed the back of his neck ¨Once again, sorry for worrying you all¨

-¨It´s fine, water under the bridge¨ Ann said

-¨Yeah man, everybody has its problems¨ Ryuji said and raised a thumb

-¨Indeed, we are glad that you are ok now¨ Yusuke said

-¨You are not only our leader, but our friend as well¨ Makoto said

-¨Thanks, you guys are the best¨ he sighed in relief ¨Anyway, let´s meet up tomorrow and decide when to send the calling card, ok?¨

Everybody nod in agreement and went home

Makoto phoned ringed, it was the chat they created without Ren

 **Ryuji: Mission accomplished**

 **Yusuke: Well, only a part of it, there still too much to do**

 **Ann: Way to kill the mood Yusuke, but it´s Makoto we should thank for**

 **Makoto: What do you mean? We all help**

 **Ryuji: Yeah but you are the one who knocked some sense into him, not literally thankfully, I mean, I got shivers just from thinking about it**

 **Ann: Ryuji, please stop writing**

 **Makoto: I would never punch him or anyone else unless it was necessary, don´t make it sound like I am some maniac!**

 **Ryuji: Sorry!**

 **Yusuke: Anyway, it is true that Makoto had more effect on him than any of us**

 **Makoto: Well, he once told me that a friend of him was Student Council President at his former school**

 **Ann: Is that so? Maybe you remind him of that friend**

 **Makoto: But there was some sadness when he mentioned it, do you guys know anything about it?**

 **Ryuji: No, he rarely talks about his life before coming here; he said it was an ordinary life**

 **Yusuke: This is quite intriguing, but I believe it would be better if we focus at the task at hand, he will talk to us when the time comes**

 **Ann: Yeah, you are right, see you all tomorrow**

The conversation was over, but curiosity stroke Makoto, what was behind Ren? Who was this mysterious friend? Did something happen? Or did that person do something to him?

Meanwhile, Ren was on his way home

-¨Glad you are staying with us¨ Morgana said

-¨Glad to hear it, besides¨ he got an smirk ¨It would be a punishment to leave the others with you without me to tell you how to behave¨

-¨Oh, ha ha, very funny, pretty sure I am the one who tells you what to do¨

-¨In all seriousness, I am happy to stay¨

-¨Good, that´s the spirit, although Makoto is the one who made you realize it, I guess she really is a nice person after all¨

-¨Yeah, she is cool¨ Ren stop on his tracks, she remembered certain girl from his former school, he quickly shook his head, trying to not remember her

* * *

 **6/27 Monday**

At Kaneshiro´s hideout, one of his lackeys approached him

-¨Excuse me, sir, but… I found this on the car. There´s something written on it¨

-¨Hm? Read it¨

-¨Um, but¨

-¨I said, read it! ¨

 **¨Sir Junya Kaneshiro, the money-devouring sinner of gluttony… You indulge in scamming others with horrendous methods that targets minors exclusively. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts¨**

Kaneshiro got quiet

-¨I-Isn´t this bad? ¨

-¨What of it? ¨

-¨I-If something happened to you! I mean, if the higher-ups find out about this¨

-¨Don´t waste your time worrying about this useless shit. Just keep quiet for now¨

-¨B-But it´s posted all around the city. People are talking about it online too¨

-¨Gr… All of you bring me your earnings! If you don´t surpass your quota… I´ll kill you¨

-¨Y-Yes sir! ¨ and the lackey left

In a dark space, Shadow Kaneshiro talked almighty ¨Phantom Thieves? Don´t make me laugh¨

Back with the normal Kaneshiro ¨Hey, we´re leaving¨ she said to the women ¨They will all pay for this¨

* * *

Back with the gang

-¨The calling card´s been posted all over Shibuya¨ Morgana said

-¨A good idea, no? ¨ Makoto said ¨Given the theatrical nature of this one, Kaneshiro must surely have been contacted about it

-¨You truly are the brain of this Phantom Thieves operation! Ryuji, you should follow her example! ¨ Morgana told him

-¨Y´know I´m the one who went posting it everywhere, right? ¨ he asked annoyed ¨I even had to get all dressed up so they wouldn´t notice me! ¨

-¨You both did a good job¨ Ren said

-¨Thank you, glad somebody notices¨ Ryuji said

-¨Come now, we don´t have time for idle chitchat. Let us get moving¨ Makoto said

-¨We´re going up against a truly horrible criminal this time¨ Ann said

-¨Makoto, you remember how all this works? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨Once we steal the Treasure, the Palace will crumble and the Palace´s ruler heart will change¨

-¨A+¨ Ren said

-¨Evil adults are nothing more than garbage, and I am no better… I will resolve this, I swear it! ¨ she was fired up

-¨All right, Joker! Give us the signal! ¨ Morgana said

He fixed his glasses ¨Let do this everybody!¨

* * *

And went to the Palace for the battle that lies ahead, they reached the vault, but

-¨A safe…!? This wasn´t here the last time we came…! ¨ Morgana said alarmed ¨He changed the entire room so quickly… Tch, I guess this Palace isn´t a bank for nothing¨

Shadow Kaneshiro showed up ¨Greetings. Welcome to my private city bank¨ His lackeys appeared ¨I´m surprised you made it here alive. It seems you are quite lucky¨

-¨Lucky? Don´t be ridiculous¨ Makoto said

-¨We´re gonna change your heart and make you confess everything you´ve done. That´ll save all those people who´re suffering cause of your shitty actions. Even the police´re struggling to dealt with you, so this´ll make the public believe in us too! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨Those in power work the ones below them to the bone for money. Such is the hierarchy of the world; just accept your fate as a source of my wealth! ¨

-¨We´ll never agree to that! ¨ Yusuke said

-¨And hierarchy? You have to be out of your mind¨ Ann said

-¨All of that was forced on me too, you know!?¨ he yelled ¨I went through shit until I crawled my way out of the dregs! Now it´s my turn to profit on everyone else! ¨

-¨Still! Don´t you think you´re getting back at the wrong people? ¨

-¨What a pitiful man¨ Makoto said

-¨Hmph, you call me pitiful? What about you, Miss Council President? You are no different ¨

-¨What?! ¨

-¨You took advantage of your friend with white mask here¨ he pointed to Ren

Makoto was stunned ¨How did you? ¨

-¨As I said, don´t underestimate our intelligence job. You took advantage of the one who help you no matter what, you care for your own desires and you even blackmailed him, and you said I am the evil one? Don´t make me laugh¨

Makoto clench her fist, she was about to answer back, but

-¨You really are hopeless¨ Ren said

-¨What?! ¨ Kaneshiro asked

-¨Don´t even think for a second that you can compare her with someone like you, she made a mistake, sure, but she has work extremely hard in order to compensate for that, even though it wasn´t necessary, she saved our lives, which is far more than what you have done for anybody, and no matter what she did, she is still our friend and also a great person, so…¨ he got quiet for a second ¨Don´t you dare to say that she only thinks of herself, you moron! ¨

Kaneshiro got shut up, as for Makoto, she was touched, once again, he was there for her

¨Ren¨

-¨Grr, say whatever you want, It´s always the fools who get tricked! Fools who have to pay for their foolishness and if those fools don´t learn, well they have to suck it up and stay as plain, stupid fools! ¨

-¨Will you just shut it already!? ¨ Ryuji asked tired of listening

-¨I guess there´s not much point saying anything to you fools! Now then, I hope you are ready to work as slaves here for the rest of your lives¨ he snickered ¨I´m gonna swarm all over you… and squeeze out every last penny! ¨

He looked down, he started to made cracking sounds and a black liquid drop, a couple of fly wings came out of him, his lackeys ran away, he raise his face and his eyes were big and red, just like a real fly

-¨I can take care of this myself! ¨ he exclaimed proudly and pointed to Makoto ¨Wassup yo!? Now come get some! ¨

Makoto was riding her bike ¨You filthy fly on dirty money… Get the hell out of my face! ¨

-¨Gyahaha! Aight, here we go, yeh pieces of shit! ¨

* * *

Kaneshiro moved his hands like a fly ¨Hehehe! Bein young is such a crime! They´re naive, reckless, and on top of that, they don´t even realize how stupid they are. Now I couldn´t just sit back and not cash in those idiots, right? ¨

-¨You could, in fact you should have, but you are way too messed up that you probably didn´t notice! ¨ Ren said with sarcasm ¨Persona! ¨ he called Arsene and used Sukunda against the fly ¨If he can´t move, easier to hit¨

-¨Whoop them Persona! ¨ Ryuji used Zio and electrified Kaneshiro

-¨Get Ready! ¨ Ann used Agilao to burned him

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto used Freila in order to blow the bastard away

Kaneshiro try to hit Ryuji, but he dodge without problem ¨Too slow¨ he said, he inflected fear in Akira, but Ryuji quickly used the Harisen Recover

-¨Fire! ¨ Ann used her gun and shoot the fly and Makoto used Freila

Kaneshiro used Eiga, wrapping Ryuji in darkness, doing some damage

-¨Let´s go¨ Ren called Arsene and used Bufu

-¨Persona! ¨ Ryuji used Assault Dive

After a few more attacks, Kaneshiro started to laugh

-¨Yeh´re just gonna keep goin at this to the bitter end,huh? No more games then. I ain´t gonna forgive yeh punks for this¨

-¨That´s our line! You had better be prepared! ¨ Makoto said

-¨Persona! ¨ Ann used Agilao

-¨Johanna! ¨ Makoto used Freila

Kaneshiro used Eiga against Ren

-¨Too slow! ¨ he said while dodging

Once again, Ren used Sukunda

After another couple of attacks, they started to corner Kaneshiro and performed a HOLD UP!

-¨D-Dammit…! Yeh goddamn punks…!

-¨Let´s finish him! ¨ Morgana said

They performed an All-Out Attack, Kaneshiro was barely standing

-¨Tch… The hell? Yeh punks´re stronger than you look. Looks like I gotta bring out my big guns…! ¨

-¨You are all buzz and no bite! ¨ Morgana said

-¨Hehehe… We´ll see about that. Time to roll out. Here he is… My guardian robot! ¨

He flied to the Safe and it started to open, revealing a gigantic metal piggy bank robot

-¨Gyahahaha! Yeh ready to die!? ¨

-¨A pig?!¨ Morgana asked surprised

-¨It ain´t a pig yo! This is my Palace´s swine-model defensive mechanoid, Piggytron! Going against me´s a real bad crime, yeh know? It´s time for yeh all to go to hell! ¨

-¨Joker! Make sure you have us regroup if you think we´re at a disadvantage! That thing´s a giant, if it attacks us while we´re at low stamina, we won´t survive! ¨ Makoto said

-¨Understood, Queen… Arsene! ¨ he used Sukunda

-¨Whoop them Persona! ¨ Ryuji used Zio against it

-¨Persona! ¨ Ann used Agi

-¨I´ll use my Persona! ¨ Makoto used Freila

Pyggytron made a jump and sent a massive wave, damaging them

-¨There¨ Ren used some medicine for them

-¨Captain Kidd! ¨ Ryuji used Headbutt, followed by Makoto who fired with her revolver

The robot used some type of Machine gun and fired at Ren, but he dodged

They continue their attacks for a while

-¨Yeh punks´re really pissing me off! Yeh called my Piggytron a pig earlier, right? Were you talkin about me too when you said that? If you were… Imma tear yeh all to shreds! Go, Piggytron! Super VIP Foorm! ¨

The robot transform into a ball, Kaneshiro came out of it and began to walk on top of it, making it spin

-¨It transformed? Don´t tell me it´s going to roll into us! ¨ Morgana yelled worried

-¨Everybody, take cover! ¨ Ren yelled, they all took defensive stances

The robot roll into them, making quite the damage

-¨How´s this!? Can´t even speak cause of how scary my Piggytron is, huh? Gyahahaha! ¨

-¨Don´t give up guys, remember, the bigger they are! ¨ Ren said

-¨The harder they fell! ¨ Makoto finished for him

Ren used some medicine, Ann used Dia with Ryuji, who used his Persona and Makoto used it too

The pig used its wave attack once more, damaging them, especially Makoto

-¨They´re attacking Queen, pay attention! ¨ Morgana warned

-¨Sukunda! ¨ Ren said

-¨For times like this! ¨ Ann used more medicine

They kept exchanging blows, until the machine transformed again

-¨Wait a second! ¨ Morgana realized something ¨We can attack Kaneshiro directly right now. Shouldn´t we be able to stop the rush then? Perhaps we can drop him on it! ¨

They focused their attacks on Kaneshiro, which made him fell of his robot and it ended up rolling over him instead, although it was still not enough, he returned inside of it

-¨Let´s go! ¨ Ren used Media to heal his friends

-¨Persona! ¨ Ryuji used Zio

-¨Get ready! ¨ Ann used Agilao

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto used Freila

Each attack let them closer to victory

The robot fired his guns to Ann

-¨Queen, cure Panther! ¨ Ren said, she did what she was told ¨Arsene! ¨ he used Sukunda once more

Ryuji attacked with Zio

Again, the robot entered in its VIP form

-¨Is he going to rush us again!? ¨ Morgana asked annoyed ¨What do we do? Should we try distracting Kaneshiro!?¨

-¨Any ideas? ¨ Ren asked

-¨As you know, Kaneshiro is a money monger. Tossing an expensive item his way might draw his attention and serve as distraction…! Let´s give it a try Joker! It´s your call what item we throw! ¨

Ren thought for a few seconds ¨Skull, throw a Magic Ointment! And prepare your Shotgun! ¨

-¨Ok! ¨ he threw the item and aim at where it landed

-¨Hm? What is that!? It´s got the shine of something pricey! ¨ Kaneshiro was happy ¨Go collect it, Piggytron! R-Right away! ¨

The robot sucked up the item, Kaneshiro went back inside his robot and started to admire the object, the gang could attack the robot without problem now

-¨Persona! ¨ Ren used Sukunda, wrapping the enemy in greenish/blackish orbs

-¨Hyaghhhhh! ¨ Ryuji used Assaul Dive, making a serious blow

-¨Persona! ¨ Ann used Agilao and burned the robot

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto used Freila, creating an explosion

Despite the attacks, Kaneshiro kept admiring the object

They kept attacking

-¨Dammit… How dare yeh hurt my Piggytron so much! ¨ he got worry ¨My Piggytron´s gonna lose…? No, that´s impossible¨

-¨It´s already been decided… You are going down¨ Makoto said

They all took out their weapons and shoot at the Robot, who explode and stop working

-¨Justice Has Prevailed¨ Makoto said

* * *

Big golden bars came out of the safe, as well as Kaneshiro

-¨Kaneshiro! ¨ Makoto said

-¨I´m not gonna let anyone have it… This is my money…¨ he hugged the bars with desperation

-¨You stole it all from innocent people! ¨

-¨Fine! I´ll call of the debt¨

-¨Fine? You´re still sounding pretty condescendin¨ Ryuji said

-¨You´re right… I´m a poor, ugly… idiot… How am I supposed to live a normal life like this…? It´s all because of our society! Weak people can´t lead a happy life, no matter what they do! I´m a victim too, you know!? Yeah, none of this is my fault! ¨

-¨The more you talk, the more pathetic you sound¨ Yusuke said

-¨I just wanted a place where I could belong! You get that, don´t you!?¨

-¨Bullshit! ¨ Ann yelled ¨All you did was surround yourself with people you could use, solely for some easy money! ¨

-¨And you think you´re the only one who´s gotta deal with bein labeled? ¨ Ryuji asked ¨We are all fighting against that! ¨

-¨But don´t worry. You´ll finally have a place you belong. Somewhere you can make amends, for the rest of your life¨ Makoto said

Shadow Kaneshiro began to disappear

-¨I am glad you understand. Now hurry up and return to the real Kaneshiro¨ Yusuke said

-¨Seriously? You guys don´t have any tact. Especially with that incredible power. These Palaces could net you loads of cash! You could do whatever you wanted to people´s hearts! ¨

-¨We´re not like you! ¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨Where do you find meaning in that naive sense of justice? You know, there´s already someone out there taking full advantage of what Palaces have to offer¨

Everybody got confused

-¨What? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨I´ll let you in on a little something… There´s a criminal using other people´s Palaces to accomplish whatever they damn well please. They don´t care about consequences¨

-¨Is that… the same person Madarame´s Shadow spoke of? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Spill it! Who´re you talkin about!?¨ Ryuji demanded

Kaneshiro just laughed ¨Don´t even bother. You are nothing compared to them¨

He finally vanish, warning the gang about this treat

The Palace begin to shake

-¨We can think about that later! ¨ Yusuke said ¨Grab the Treasure, there´s no time! ¨

-¨Wait, what!?¨ Makoto asked confused

Morgana was stroking the Treasure and purring as well ¨Mrrrrooooowww! ¨

-¨What´s gotten into him!?¨

In his excitement, he jumped to Ann´s face

-¨Hrgh!? L-Leff ho off me! ¨

-¨ _I bet he is enjoying that way too much_ ¨ Ren thought

She threw Morgana into the air, who turned into a car

-¨You shouldn´t throw animals, dammit! ¨ he complained

-¨Enough, already! Let´s get ii in, everyone! Hurry! ¨

The guys save the bars into the car, although the poor cat felt the extra weight

They drove for a moment, when

-¨Wait, there´s no road! ¨

They begin to fell, but fortunately, they managed to return to the real world

* * *

-¨Are you ok, Makoto? ¨ Ren asked

-¨Yes, I´m fine¨ she replied

-¨Oww¨ Ann complained

-¨I think I cracked my ass¨ Ryuji said

-¨Ann, are you all right!? ¨ Yusuke asked concerned ¨Is yours cracked as well? ¨

-¨Of course not! ¨

-¨Isn´t it supposed to be though? ¨ Makoto wondered

-¨That´s not what I meant¨ she was slightly red ¨More importantly, it´s dangerous for us to just charge out like that! Everybody is staring at us¨

-¨Thank goodness nobody was hurt¨ Makoto said

-¨Uhhh¨ Ryuji looked at the street ¨I wouldn´t say anybody¨

In the middle of the street, Morgana was with a golden briefcase on top of him

-¨Hey, the light´s red! ¨ and they recovered both the case and the cat

-¨Where should we open it? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨I know the perfect place¨ Ryuji said and looked at Ren

-¨That´s right¨ Ann said

-¨I was just in the mood for some coffee too¨ Yusuke said

Ren sighed a bit ¨ _Suddenly the idea of leaving the team doesn´t sound so bad now_ ¨

* * *

They were at Ren´s room, trying to get the number, Makoto moved some dials and managed to unlocked it

-¨I knew it¨

Everybody else were stunned

-¨How did you get that? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨I simply memorized the combination. I saw him open and close it so many times, after all¨ she said proudly

-¨That or perhaps you like to open locks as a hobby ¨ Ren said with a smirk

¨Oh, shut up¨ she gave her a little slap on the back of his head

They open the briefcase and inside of it was plenty of money

-¨H-How much is that!?¨ Ryuji had his mouth wide open

There was thirty million yen in total

-¨Even after splitting it, we still each get five million! ¨ Makoto said shocked

Everybody were happy about this, but

-¨Not to bring down the excited mood… but does this money looked real to you? ¨ Yusuke asked

And he was right, the money was indeed false

-¨Noooooo! ¨ Ryuji yelled disappointed

And now, all they could do was waiting for the change of heart

* * *

 **6/28 Tuesday**

The following morning, Ren just woke up, but his phone ringed

-¨Hello? It´s me, Makoto. Were you sleeping? ¨

-¨No. it´s fine¨

-¨Thank goodness. There´s something I feel I should let you know. Kaneshiro contacted me. He said he´s calling off our debt. It seems he´s disposed of all the photographs as well and um… My sister and her team have taken him into custody¨

Both he and Morgana were stunned

-¨It appears they did not want him to… disappear, if you know what I mean, but does this mean we were successful in changing his heart? ¨

-¨It´s hard to say for sure yet¨ Morgana said

-¨I see… what about those psychotic breakdowns that Kaneshiro mentioned…? ¨

-¨I am not sure… but I assume that he was talking about the incidents that have been all over the news lately, it may be related to the other person who has been entering Palaces¨ Morgana said

-¨True. That said, all we can do now is wait until Kaneshiro´s change of heart becomes clear to us. Thank you¨

She was about to hung up, but

-¨Wait, Makoto¨ Ren said

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨Are you free after classes? I need to talk to you about something; can you meet me at the rooftop? ¨

-¨Oh… sure, I can open it¨

-¨Good, see you then¨

* * *

The school day went fast, and Ren meet up with Makoto where they agreed, he asked Morgana to leave for a bit, so the cat went for a walk

-¨Hello¨ she said

-¨Hi, how are you? ¨

-¨Fine, I am surprised for your request¨

-¨As I said, I need to talk to you about something¨

-¨What is it? ¨

Ren got quiet for a few seconds ¨Why do you think you are useless? ¨

Makoto was taken back for that question ¨W-Why are you asking that? ¨

-¨I just don´t want you to do something so reckless, that did help us to get to Kaneshiro, but you can´t just risk your life like that, so why? ¨

She looked at the floor, not answering

-¨Is it because of your sister? ¨

She nod

-¨You think that she thinks you are useless? Why?

-¨Because… she said so¨

Ren´s eyes went wide ¨What?!¨

Makoto sighed ¨Here´s what happened¨

She told him everything, how in the middle of dinner, she just wanted to talk about what has been happening lately, how her sister said that she was eating her life away and that she was useless to her

-¨That´s why I was so reckless, I wanted to be useful, to her, to you, to anybody! and I know my plan worked but what if it didn´t? I would have put my sister life in danger just to prove myself, she would have been right and…¨ she wiped a tear from her face ¨And what could have happened to you? You could be in jail because of me¨ she buried her face in her hands

Ren was stunned; he clenched his hand ¨She didn´t mean it¨

Makoto looked up ¨Huh? ¨

-¨All that stuff she said, she didn´t mean it, if she did believe that, why she would take care of you? You are the reason why she works so hard; you are her motivation Makoto, so no matter what happens, she will be there for you and you will be there for her¨

-¨But, what about? ¨

-¨Who, me? I am fine, so don´t worry, I am here for you, you help us plenty of times, you are not useless to her, to me, to anybody, so… cheer up¨ he hugged her

Makoto was quiet, she couldn´t believe what she just heard, she couldn´t believe how much he cared for her ¨You put too much faith in me, Ren¨

-¨I put too much faith in everybody, it´s who I am¨

-¨Well…. Thank you very much¨

-¨That´s what friends are for¨ they broke the hug ¨Wanna go for something to eat? I am starving

-¨Sure, although this time, I will pay¨

-¨Let´s split it¨

-¨All right¨

And both left the rooftop and went to eat something, enjoying each other company

* * *

 **And that´s the end of that for now, Kaneshiro is finally down and Makoto and Ren are a bit closer to each other, waht would happen to them? Stay tune to find out, also, sorry if I skip the part about the codes and vaults, I figured that the actual fight was more important than that, so I hope you are not angry**

 **And good news, we are near the 4500 views views, thank you very much for everything and let´s keep it up**

 **As usual, thank you for reading, leave a review or send a PM and I would glady answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	8. Investigating and Spending Time Together

**7/2 Saturday**

Another day at school was over, Ren did not know what to do, there was still some time before Kaneshiro´s deadline, Yusuke was busy preparing himself for an art exposition, Ryuji had to help his mother and Ann went to visit Shiho, so he decided to check on Makoto

He went to the third floor and there she was standing in front of the Student Council Room, he walked towards her

-¨I´ve yet to hear anything from Kaneshiro. All we can do now is wait until our time limit… Do you need something on the third floor? Have you come to study in the library, perhaps? ¨

-¨I came to see you¨

-¨Well, it seems your studies have paid off. Have you been working hard? ¨ she smiled proudly ¨There´s something I want to ask you. If it doesn´t get in the way of your studies, that is¨

-¨I can lend an ear¨

-¨Thank you. Now then, let´s find somewhere better to talk. The courtyard should do¨

* * *

They both went to the courtyard

-¨I have a question to ask you. Is that Ok? ¨

Ren nodded

-¨Up until now, I´ve been the quintessential honor student. I believe I´ve been handling my position as student council president with ease as well¨ she got nervous ¨A-And I don´t mean that in a boasting way, that´s simply how I´ve thought about it. But in the end, I was unable to make any kind of impact with either Suzui-san or Kaneshiro. Turns out there´s no use for a rule-abiding honor student when things get rough, but now that I´m a member of this team, I want to do everything I can to help you all. All my study up to this point has kept me quite narrow-minded. I think…I-I will need to broaden my horizons somewhat¨

-¨Way to go, Advisor! ¨

-¨Advisor…? Hmph, all right. My first step will be to learn more about the other students, but… I struggle with that. There seems to be a disparity between my tastes and those of my peers…¨

-¨That´s not true¨ he said shaking his head, it wasn´t precisely a lie for all he knew

-¨Really? I hope you´re right… But I don´t even know where people like to go for fun…It would be nice to have a grasp of such concepts. Plus, the student council must be responsible for understanding the student body they serve, right? ¨ she quickly clarified ¨I-I don´t mean that in a surveillance way, I just want to know them as people. Where do people usually go for fun? ¨

-¨The movie theater¨

-¨I enjoy the movies myself, sometimes. I think I´d prefer somewhere I´m unfamiliar with… Oh, I know! How about the arcade? I´ve never actually been to one. Do you think you could take me? ¨

-¨It would be a field trip¨

She sighed in relief ¨Thank goodness… I think I would have been totally lost in there had I go by myself¨ she clench her fist with excitement ¨Well, let´s get going¨

* * *

They both arrived to the arcade in Shibuya

-¨So, this is where everyone comes to enjoy themselves¨ she looked to her surroundings ¨There are more girls than I expected¨ she looked to a particular game station ¨Hey, over there…You play by aiming the gun at the screen, right? That actually seems somewhat realistic¨ she got quiet

-¨Want to try it? ¨ he asked

-¨I-If it is OK with you… Do you think you could teach me? ¨

-¨Gladly, let´s begin¨

They both grabbed a gun and begin to shoot at whatever popped up in the screen

-¨To your right¨ Ren said

Makoto shoot an enemy ¨I did it! ¨

-¨Get ready for the big one¨

-¨Huh!? ¨ she was surprised ¨No way! ¨ the monster attacked them too fast ¨Ahh! ¨

They kept playing a few more rounds, Makoto´s loud play is gathering quite a bit of attention, but she seemed to be too engrossed in the game to notice it

-¨Oh, so this is how it is¨ she have a smile on her face

-¨You´re a pro¨

-¨Of course that was just a game, but… I wonder if I could apply some of the techniques I learned here during battle¨

-¨You´re so sharp¨

-¨Perhaps going somewhere I don´t normally frequent is what helped me come up with that idea¨

-¨Well, if anybody can apply it, it´s you¨

-¨Please, you´re flattering me, but you know, it may be only a little bit, but I think I´m starting to understand how people pass time. Interesting, I would´ve never even thought about coming here before¨

-¨We can comeback anytime you want¨

-¨That seems nice¨ she got quiet for a moment ¨Hey, do you think you could help me out again later? I might be able to give the team more ideas if I can gain increased knowledge outside of my studies¨

-¨I look forward to it¨ he showed her a little smile

-¨I need to live up to your expectations now that I´ve taken up your time¨

-¨I am sure you will, you have before, I need to step up my game as well¨

-¨All right, by the way, you went to the red light district when you were chasing after Kaneshiro, right? I´d would like to go there as well. No! N-Not for my own purposes…¨

-¨What happened? ¨

-¨To tell you the truth, I recently got a report that one of our students was spotted there…I´m skeptical, but… I´d like to confirm firsthand for myself¨

-¨Sure¨

-¨Well, it´s getting late. Let´s go home¨

They both went their own ways

* * *

 **7/3 Sunday**

They arrived to Shinjuku

-¨There are so many people here… I guess this really is the biggest red-light district in Asia, huh. Apparently this place was a hotbed for criminals and immigrants before they installed surveillance cameras. I heard there were quite a few brothels as well¨

-¨You are very well informed¨

-¨Well, I heard a great deal about it from my father. This is the first time I´ve actually been here myself though¨

-¨Ryuji and I run into a couple of weird dudes that wanted to have a ¨goodtime¨ Ren made quotes when saying that

Makoto realized what he meant ¨Oh, that sounds…¨

-¨I am glad we made it out, there are certain worlds I don´t want to see¨

-¨Regardless, it´s become far safer now than it used to be. Mainly thanks to the police efforts to clean up the area, but even so, there´s no way to eradicate crime entirely¨

-¨Every effort is important¨

-¨You are right. Anyway, seeing is believing, yes? Come on, let´s have a look around¨

They split up as Makoto requested, but many guys tried to start conversations with her

-¨Hey, little miss, interested in a job? ¨ a man said

-¨I wanted to know if¨ Makoto said

-¨Shh, baby¨ he interrupted her ¨No need to talk, just let me handle the words

-¨Excuse me, but you are not listening¨ she got angry

-¨Come on, don´t be like that¨

-¨Hey, any problems here? ¨ Ren said

-¨Piss off kid, I am busy here¨ the man glared at him

-¨Let´s just go Ren¨

-¨Hey, I am not done here¨

-¨Hey, is that a police officer? ¨ Ren pointed far away, the man turned around; they took this opportunity to run away

-¨Did we lose him? ¨ Makoto asked nervous ¨That guy was so persistent. He must have been a scout for a hostess club. He mentioned how ¨his girls¨ get paid a lot to wear cute dresses… ¨ she sighed ¨All I wanted was to ask if any Shujin students worked there… but he nearly dragged me inside with him, If you hadn´t been there to rescue me, I…¨ she looked down

-¨That was dangerous¨ Ren said

-¨For him maybe, I thought I was going to have to knock him out¨

-¨Aww, I miss the chance to see your Fists of Justice¨

-¨Pardon? ¨

-¨Oh, come on, you yelled that whenever we performed an All-Out Attack the other day at Mementos¨

-¨I do not! ¨ she turned slightly red

-¨Sure… Still cool though¨

-¨Do you want to get smack? ¨ she threatened

-¨Oh no, my apologies my Queen, god, spare me this punishment¨ he bow to make his point, but he didn´t hide his grin

Makoto rolled her eyes ¨Anyway, I´m glad nobody had to get hurt though. And thanks again. Despite your jokes, you have a knack for helping me out. I hope I can do the same for you someday¨

-¨Anytime, besides, you have helped me before¨

They were ready to leave, until

-¨Hm? ¨ something caught Makoto´s attention

A girl with Shujin´s uniform entered a building

-¨That was… I used to be in the same class as her! But why is she here? ¨

They both looked at the sign of the building

-¨The After School Salon…? ¨

-¨What kind of place is that? ¨ he asked

-¨I´m not sure… but it seems suspicious. I´ll have to ask her about it. Oh, and I´d like you to be there as my witness. Would that be OK? ¨

-¨Ok¨

* * *

 **7/5 Tuesday**

Ren and Makoto were at the Student Council Room, talking with the student they saw the other day

-¨Eiko Takao-san. You´ve been spending time in the red-light district lately, haven´t you? Both myself and Amamiya-kun here saw you there. Base on where you were heading, we assume you´re working at a store called the After School Salon. How is it, working there? ¨

She looked up from her phone ¨Whaddya mean? It´s just a normal café. They make me wear a costume and stuff, but that´s it. Oh, and I don´t hafta do anything weird, if you know what I mean. It´s totally legal¨

-¨Hm. So you´re sure nothing strange is going on? ¨

-¨Yup yup, the worst I get is some weird old guys gawking at me¨

-¨I see… Beyond that though, why are you working there? How´s your financial situation? ¨

-¨Uh, fine? I can just ask my parents for cash whenever I want¨

-¨O-Oh, I see…¨

-¨But they´d totally bug me about what I´m buying if I did that. That´s why I work at the salon. I get some good spending money, plus the guys who come in there like, mega pamper me¨

-¨ _Too much information_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨Mega… Pamper? ¨

-¨It´s nice having people treat you like you´re special, you know? I´m sure a super honor student like you gets that all the time though… Anyways, are you gonna tell on me? You even brought a witness today¨ something hit her ¨Hold up, doesn´t that mean you two were in Shinjuku together? What´s up with that, Miss Prez? ¨

-¨… Y-You have the wrong idea¨ Ren said with a tiny amount of hesitation

-¨R-Right. It was nothing more than an errand I asked him to accompany me on¨ she said with a bit of hesitation as well ¨At any rate, don´t mind him. As for you… I don´t plan on telling anyone¨

-¨Ohh, I get it! So we´re like, protecting each other´s secrets? Oh crap, and I just realized your boyfriend´s that rumored criminal… You´re a real badass, Miss Prez! ¨

-¨I told you, that´s not how it is! ¨ Makoto yelled ¨I was just worried you were getting wrapped up in some shady business, so I asked him here for support¨

-¨Hmmmm… Eh, whatever¨ she said not entirely convinced ¨Btdubs, I was wondering… Is that a Buchimaru-kun pencil case? ¨ she pointed to Makoto´s pencil case

-¨Huh? You know Buchimaru-kun? ¨

-¨I´m sorry but what are you two talking about? ¨ Ren asked confused

-¨It was a kid´s show about this little panda, what, you never watched it? Anyway, I had like tons of Buchi stuff back when I was a kid. What a blast from the past! Why´s so beat up!?¨

-¨Well, it was given to me when I was still in elementary school… I´d like to buy a new one, but they´ve stopped selling Buchimaru-kun merchandise¨

-¨OMG, this is too hilarious! ¨ she barely contained her laugh ¨The student council president has an adorable pencil case? My image of you has done like, a complete 360 today¨

-¨ _I think you mean 180_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨You don´t really look like the kinda person who´d be into that stuff. I mean, I always thought you were kinda like a robot, but I guess I just had to get to know you better. Why don´t we trade phone numbers!? I really wanna talk to you more about Buchimaru-kun… and your boyfriend¨

-¨O-Oh, um… OK¨

They both exchanged their numbers ¨Wait, he´s not my boyfriend¨

-¨Save it Makoto, at this point, she might as well start writing fanfiction about us¨ he said

-¨Aaand saved! Oh crap, it´s this late already? I´ve gotta get to work. Bye byeee! ¨

And Eiko left

-¨She has energy¨ Ren said

-¨She was all over the place¨ Makoto said, but she got sad ¨Honestly though, I´m in shock. She thought I was a robot¨

-¨You can change¨

-¨Yes. That´s why you´re helping me. You know, I believe what Takao-san said about me is how the others think as well. I thought I had changed after the incident with Kaneshiro, but perhaps it wasn´t enough… That aside, it was almost inspiring to meet someone so distinct from myself. I´m going to try to look at things a little different from now on, and well… I think that will help me break out of my shell. I hope you´re ready. I´m going to show you how useful an honor student can really do¨

-¨If it means anything, you are doing a great job so far¨

-¨Now that I have her contact information, perhaps I can correct her misconceptions about you¨

-¨There´s no need for you to do that¨

-¨I know, but I still want to¨

-¨Ok, I think we are done here for today¨

-¨Actually, there´s still one matter I need to talk to you¨

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨Well, remember that you made curry for me after I help you with your studies, I want to return the favor for everything you have done for me, so I hope you are ready¨

-¨You don´t have to¨

-¨I know, but I want to¨ she glared at him ¨And I am not taking no for an answer¨

-¨Ok, Ok, didn´t know you can cook¨

-¨Prepared to be surprised¨ she said proudly ¨Now, shall we? ¨

* * *

They headed to Makoto´s house; Ren looked at his surroundings, the living room well decorated and clean as well, the exact opposite of his attic, not that he didn´t clean his room, but still

-¨Make yourself comfortable, I´ll start cooking¨ she headed to the kitchen while Ren simply seat on the couch, his phoned ringed

-¨I got to take this! ¨

-¨All right¨ she said

Ren went to the hallway in order to take his call ¨Hello¨

-¨Ren, got some great news! ¨ it was Mishima

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨You are going to be happy, DOBLE DATE! ¨

-¨There is no need for you to yell¨

-¨I know, I am just excited, meet these two girls through the site and after some talk, I got us something¨

-¨Please tell me you didn´t tell them our identities¨

-¨What?! No, come on, who do you take me for? I just make some random comments to make it sound like we are fans as well and score! ¨

-¨That sounds nice¨

-¨I know, right? Anyway, are you free now? If so, we can go now¨

-¨Sorry, I´m busy at the moment¨

-¨What!?¨ he was disappointed ¨What are you even doing? ¨

-¨I am... with someone¨

-¨Wait, so you are already in a date with another girl?!¨

-¨Calm yourself down, it´s nothing like that and just tell these girls we´ll meet them another day and that´s all¨

-¨Nghh, fine, but you better don´t fail me on this one¨

-¨Relax, everything will be fine¨

-¨Well, I gotta go, see you later¨

-¨Bye¨

He hung up the phone and return to the living room, he saw Makoto cooking, she was cutting some vegetables as well as stirring a bowl, all her moves were coordinated, she moved like a real expert, unlike Ren who had trouble when making curry for the first time, she moved graciously, he couldn´t help but feel a little excited

 **After a while**

-¨Food is ready¨ she said

-¨All right¨

He went to the table and was stunned; in the table there was a little black bowl that contained Udon, a dish with Okonomiyaki, Vegetables, Tenpura shrimps and homemade sushi

-¨Wow¨

-¨Hope you enjoy¨

They both took their seat and began to eat, as soon as he took his first bite; his eyes went wide ¨This is amazing¨

-¨Oh, you are overreacting, anybody can do this¨ she was a bit red

-¨Maybe, but this is delicious, glad you aren´t opening a restaurant, otherwise Leblanc would go bankrupt¨

-¨I found cooking more as a hobby rather than a possible career, besides, no matter what, nobody makes curry the way you do¨

-¨You are gonna have to teach me a bit¨

They kept eating, talking about different things, until Makoto´s phone ringed

-¨It´s Takao-san¨

-¨Is everything all right? ¨

-¨Yeah, just making sure that she got my number right¨

-¨Are you still worry about her job? ¨

-¨Maybe a little¨

-¨It she says that nothing strange happens, then I guess we have nothing to worry about, although, we can always check just in case¨

She got another text ¨Huh? ¨

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨She figured out that you are here, how? ¨

-¨Probably it´s her shipping sense¨

-¨Come now, you are exaggerating¨

-¨Let her believe that if she wants, after all, you and I know the truth, right? ¨

-¨Yes, you are right, we are just two friends spending time¨

-¨Precisely¨

They finished eating ¨Man, this was good¨

-¨Glad you like it¨ she smiled a bit

-¨Let me help you with the dishes¨

-¨There is no need¨

-¨I am not taking no for an answer¨

Makoto smirk at him ¨Touché, Joker¨

They took the dishes and began to wash them

-¨This was fun, we should do it again sometime¨ she said

-¨Hope it can help to expand your horizons¨

-¨Maybe a little, although I just wanted to have a good time¨

-¨Mission accomplished¨

They kept washing the dishes in silence

-¨Hey Makoto¨

-¨Hm? ¨

He put some foam in the tip of her nose

-¨You have something in your face¨

She remained quiet ¨Ren? ¨

-¨Yes? ¨

She threw the sponge at his face

-¨Fair enough¨ he said with foam covering him

-¨I warn you¨

They finished washing the dishes and Ren went home, Makoto sit on her couch, there was something inside of her that she couldn´t explain, something related to Ren, especially when he was around, but what could it be?

As for Ren, he arrived at Leblanc

-¨Ohhh, you´re back¨ Sojiro said

-¨Hi, how´s it going? ¨

-¨Regular day, I guess, you? ¨

-¨I help Makoto with something and ate at her house¨

-¨You mean the student council president? Sly dog¨ he winked at him

-¨It´s not like that¨

-¨Sure, if you say so¨

He walked to his room

-¨Hey, welcome back¨ Morgana said

-¨Hi¨

-¨How did your reunion with that student went? ¨

-¨Fine, nothing seems to be wrong, but we´ll keep an eye¨

-¨And your dinner with Makoto? ¨

-¨How did you know that? ¨

-¨I was sleeping in the stairs and I hear you talking about it with boss¨

-¨Oh, it all went well¨

He began to scratch his back against Ren´s leg ¨Ah, the young love¨

-¨It´s not like that¨

-¨Well, if it helps, once I regain my human form, I´ll be your wingman¨

-¨When that happens, I´m going to charge you the rent¨

-¨You´re bad¨

Ren sit on his bed and began to explore through his phone, he too felt something inside him, something regarding Makoto

* * *

 **7/9 Saturday**

Kaneshiro finally confessed his crime and was where he deserved; Makoto was called to the principal´s office

-¨Care to explain? ¨ he asked

-¨I believe in what I wrote… ¨The Phantom Thieves are just¨

-¨Have you figured out who they are? ¨

-¨No, I´m nowhere close. However, after considering all the facts, I conclude there are no errors in their acts or principles. Thus, upon deeming them to be on the side of justice, I have decided to end my investigation¨

-¨But that´s impossible! ¨

-¨Impossible? May I see the evidence you have that leads you to believe so? ¨

-¨I was just speaking to the director of a prestigious college about your letter of recommendation too¨

She smiled proudly ¨There will no need for that. I intend on getting into a good college by my own merit. Please excuse me¨ she bowed and left

-¨Hey, we are not done here! ¨ he said but it was too late

* * *

 **7/10 Sunday**

They reunited at the coffee shop in order to, as Ryuji phrased it ¨Hang out¨

-¨That´s not why we´re here! ¨ Ann glared at him ¨We need to study for our finals¨

Makoto sighed ¨Why am I here too? ¨

-¨You´re one of us now, so of course you gotta help us. We´re in trouble if you don´t teach us, you know? ¨ Ryuji said ¨Besides¨ he looked at Ren ¨We can tell her about it, right? Actually, tell her yourself¨

-¨If it is about the truth about his probation, he already told me everything about it¨

Everybody were surprised

-¨For real!?¨ Ryuji asked

Ren nod

-¨It is still terrible though¨

-¨Ann, Yusuke and me are pretty much the same too. I mean, it´s not as bad as this guy´s though¨

-¨That aside, do you have any intention of studying for the exam? ¨

They all began to study and even agree to watch the firework festival, but unknown to them, somebody was hearing their conversation as well as tipping in her keyboard

* * *

 **And that´s the end of that for now, we have our protagonist spending time together and things are getting interested as we finish this arc and began the next one on the following chapter, what would happen ? Stay tune to find out**

 **And once again I thank you all for your support so far, tahnk you for favorite/follow and review this story, it gives me motivation to go on no matter what, you people are awesome**

 **As usual, thank you for reading. leave a review or send me a PM and I would gladly answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	9. Fireworks, Spooks and Troubled Pasts

**7/18 Monday**

The guys were waiting at the station for the girls to show up

-¨It´s so hoooot¨ Ryuji complained

-¨I feel like I´m being baked¨ Morgana said from Akira´s bag

-¨Those girls are way too late¨

-¨It must be taking time for them to put on the yukata¨ Yusuke said, who of course, was wearing his own yukata ¨Why aren´t you two wearing one? ¨

-¨I don´t got clothes like yukata¨ Ryuji said

-¨Me neither, besides, I am already without my glasses, so¨ Ren said

A couple of lady wearing yukatas approached them

-¨Are you going to the fireworks festival? ¨ one of them asked

-¨That´s right¨ Yusuke said

-¨Us too! Wanna go together? ¨

-¨Are we… getting hit on!?¨ Ryuji asked surprised

-¨Come on, let´s go together¨ another of the ladies said

-¨Do you happen to be a model? You look great in that yukata¨

-¨Waitin around´s a pain, so can we just go with these chicks? ¨ Ryuji was excited

-¨No way¨ Ren said

-¨We´ll both apologize to the others later! ¨

-¨Go if you want¨

-¨That´s enough! ¨ Yusuke said, he was still talking to the ladies ¨You´re disgracing your yukata. You should be more aware of your womanhood¨

The ladies walked away

-¨How could you!?¨ Ryuji felt betrayed

Ren patted him in the back ¨Come on; I think you are…¨

He stop talking as soon as he noticed Makoto coming, her white yukata with red flowers that made her eyes stand out and she looked more prettier than usual with it, he felt the heat rising in his cheeks a bit

-¨So those are the kinds of girls you like, Ryuji¨ Makoto said

He scratched his head ¨Uh, well, that´s…¨

-¨You know, Yusuke´s such a pretty boy, but he is really missing out because of what he says¨ Ann said

-¨I guess, but he´s more likeable since he stays true to his ideals¨ he glared at Ryuji ¨Definitely more than somebody I know¨

-¨Regardless, you two look good¨ Ren said

-¨Thank you Ren¨ Makoto said

-¨Um, are you all right? ¨ Ann asked ¨You are a bit red¨

-¨Am I? Well, it´s really hot today¨

-Yeah, you girls could had hurry a bit¨ Ryuji said

-¨At least we weren´t planning on abandoning you! ¨ Ann said

Both of them started to argue, with Yusuke trying to stop them

-¨Here they go again¨ Morgana said

-¨By the way Ren¨ Makoto said ¨It´s the first time I see you without glasses, you look good¨

-¨Wait, you mean I look bad with them? ¨ he faked being offended

-¨N-no, of course not, you are still handsome with them¨ she turned red ¨I mean, that is to say… Nghh¨

-¨Makoto, I was only joking¨

-¨Y-yeah, just a joke… ha ha¨

-¨In all seriousness though, you look great on that¨

-¨T-Thanks¨

-¨Ugh, never mind¨ Ann said ¨It´s gonna get crowed if we don´t get going¨

-¨Agreed¨ Yusuke said

* * *

And they went to see the fireworks, but as soon as they could get a look at it, the rain began to fall, they sighed

They took cover under a store´s roof

-¨ _I think I have water in my ears_ ¨ Ren thought while hitting his ear, until he caught something

He saw Makoto drying the water of her hair and he didn´t know if the rain took part on it, but she looked even more beautiful, he remembered when she was cooking dinner the other day, once again, he got red and his heart was pounding fast, he kept staring at her

-¨Huh? ¨ Makoto felt somebody was looking at her; she turned and saw that Ren was looking at her, he quickly turned around, pretending like nothing happened, she blushed a bit

They entered the store

-¨Ack… We´re just tryin to get outta the rain, but look how crowed it is¨ Ryuji said

-¨I guess everyone had the same idea¨ Ann said, she looked at Makoto, who was stating into space ¨What´s wrong? ¨

-¨Mm, I think I just saw someone I know¨

-¨You mean the girl in the black car? ¨

-¨Well, she´s got a ride. Time to show your skills, Mona! We need you as a car! ¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨It´s not possible in the real world! ¨

-¨My feet hurt… It´s cold… The festival´s been canceled… This sucks¨ Ann complained

-¨Aren´t heroes who lurked in the shadows boring? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I like the shade¨ Ren said

-¨What are you, moss!?¨

-¨Do I look green to you? ¨

-¨Excuse me¨ a girl who wanted to grabbed something from a shelf said behind Ren

-¨Oh, sorry¨ he moved to the side and that´s when he got froze

In front of him there was was a girl who was wearing a red yukata with white flowers, she seemed to be the same age as Makoto, she had long light blue hair, white eyes

-¨A-Asumi? ¨

The rest of the gang looked to Ren, his body was all tense

-¨Ren? ¨ the girl known as Asumi said with a bit of surprise, she put her hand on her chin ¨So the rumors are true. Anyhow, I came with my parents only to see the festival. I´ll be leaving tomorrow. Have a nice day¨ and she walked away

Ren looked to the floor

-¨Dude? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨How on earth did she find out I am here? Then again, knowing her, she must have found a way¨ he said to himself

-¨Ren? ¨ Makoto asked concerned

-¨Huh? ¨ he looked up ¨Oh, sorry, what are we talking about? ¨

-¨What happened? You look like if you have seen a ghost¨ Ann said

-¨It was nothing¨

-¨It didn´t look like nothing, who was that girl? ¨ Yusuke said

-¨Don´t worry, everything is ok¨

-¨But Ren¨ Makoto said

-¨Damn it, I said everything is ok, all right Makoto?! ¨ he yelled, everybody took a step back, he realized what he did and grabbed his neck ¨Sorry, it has been a tiring day¨ he looked outside ¨The rain is letting up. We should go home¨ he walked outside, not looking at them

-¨Ok, what the hell was that about? ¨ Ryuji asked pissed

-¨That look in his eyes sent shivers down my back¨ Ann said

-¨I think we should be thankful he wears glasses all the time¨ Yusuke said

-¨I have never seen him so angry _especially with me_ ¨ Makoto thought worry ¨She was talking to that girl with blue hair¨

-¨Who could it be? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Ohhhh¨ something hit Ryuji ¨I get it now¨

-¨What? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Think about it, he gets all tense, a mysterious girl he never mentioned before, it´s way too obvious…¨ he got quiet for a moment ¨Former girlfriend¨

Everybody just stare at him

-¨Seriously? ¨ Ann asked rolling her eyes

-¨That´s the best conclusion you have? ¨ Yusuke shook his head

-¨It´s the only explanation, man, what a sly dog he is, why on earth he didn´t tell us that he had a girlfriend¨

-¨That´s certainly not the case! ¨ Makoto yelled

Everybody looked at her

-¨Why are you so sure? ¨ Ryuji asked confused

-¨Well, I…¨ she turned red ¨I am just sure, ok? ¨

-¨Are you all right? You are turning red¨ Yusuke said

She looked away ¨Well it was hot earlier today and besides, even if it was his girlfriend, what difference would that make? ¨

-¨But…¨ Ryuji scratched his head ¨You are the one who is getting all worked up about this¨

-¨Just make sure to study for the make-up exams¨

She left the store faster than a Shadow running after them

-¨What was that about? ¨ Ryuji asked

Ann remain quiet, thinking ¨ _Wait, hold on_ ¨ she started connect the dots, Makoto´s behavior, Ren´s behavior whenever Makoto was around, both being red ¨ _Could it be_ ¨ something hit her, a grin grew on her face ¨ _No way! This is way too good_ ¨

-¨What´s so funny Ann? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Nothing…¨ she said

-¨Come on, it´s clearly something huge, spill the beans¨ Ryuji said

-¨Nah, for now, I´m going to keep it to myself¨

She left the store too

-¨Ok, nobody here is making any sense today! ¨ Ryuji yelled

Makoto kept walking to her house ¨ _What is wrong with me? Why am I getting all angry and flustered for something like that? And why does it bother me so much what_ Ren _does?_ ¨

* * *

Ren arrived at Leblanc, where Sojiro was talking to a woman

-¨So you won´t tell me, no matter what? ¨ she asked

-¨I have nothing more to say to you about that¨ he was angry

-¨I see¨ she stood up from her seat ¨In that case, I have ways of making you talk¨

-¨Huh? What´s that supposed to¨

-¨Thanks for the drink¨ she grab her purse and began to walk away

-¨H-Hey! We´re not done here yet! ¨

-¨Lover´s quarrel? ¨ Ren asked

-¨No, you moron¨ he looked to the clock ¨It´s past closing time. Clean up the place¨

In a dark room, a girl was typing in her computer while listening to the news

-¨Regrettably, the cause behind the recent psychotic breakdown incidents is still unknown. Onto other news, the international hacktivist group Medjed has released a statement to the Phantom Thieves¨

That last part got her attention

 **Back with Sojiro and Ren**

-¨These are the details of the message that are posted on Medjed´s website¨ the reporter said ¨To the Phantom Thieves causing an uproar in Japan: Do not speak of your false justice. We do not need the spread of such falsehood. We are the true executors of justice¨

-¨The Phantom Thieves again…? ¨ Sojiro said

-¨However. We are magnanimous. We will give you an opportunity to repent your ways. If you agree to a change of heart, we will accept you as our own. If you reject our offer, the hammer of justice will find you¨

-¨Justice, huh? ¨ Sojiro said

-¨Akechi-san, why do you think this announcement was made this time? ¨

-¨I don´t know the details, but there´s no doubt that they were provoked by The Phantom Thieves. Whether it´s a sense of rivalry or a simple attention grab given the recent trends , I cannot say… Regardless, it´s quite a nuisance¨

-¨A nuisance? ¨

-¨Both Medjed and The Phantom Thieves are nothing more than groups that uphold an egoistic justice¨

-¨What a stupid thing they´re getting riled up on¨ Sojiro said with a sigh, he looked at Ren ¨Phantom Thieves, huh? What in the world are they? You know about them? ¨

-¨Who? ¨

-¨I´m the one asking you. Don´t return a question with another question. Well, it´s about time I go home¨ he left the store

Akechi kept talking ¨It´s possible that more people like these will continue to appear due to their influence. In that respect, The Phantom Thieves face a very serious crime¨

* * *

After cleaning everything, Ren went to his room, his phone ringed, it was the group´s chat

 **Ryuji: We gotta talk about Medjed**

 **Ann: You mean those guys people online are going nuts over?**

 **Yusuke: Medjed… That name seems to come from one of the obscure gods from the Egyptian Book of Dead**

 **Makoto: I saw the news too. For some reason they think we speak of false justice**

 **Yusuke: Now then, what exactly did you want to speak of regarding Medjed?**

 **Ryuji: Welll, why don´t we go after them as our next target?**

 **Yusuke: What a sudden suggestion**

 **Ryuji: I mean, they´re like, bad hackers or something, right?**

 **Makoto: Technically, they´re crackers. Those who use the internet to illegally access and alter data. Medjed is an organized group of such people recognized by the larger internet community**

 **Yusuke: So they operate on a global scale?**

 **Ann: That makes them even bigger than Kaneshiro!**

 **Ryuji: Right!? Then it´s settle. Our next target´s gonna be Medjed. I wonder if the Nav´ll get a hit if we put Medjed in**

 **Ann: Oh, right!**

 **Ren: That´s impossible**

 **Makoto: He is right. It has to be a pseudonym. We don´t even know how many people Medjed is**

 **Ann: Oh…**

 **Ryuji: Wouldn´t we get at least one member´s info if we try and look into it though?**

 **Makoto: Even if we did, how would we discover their location? The only confirmed presence of Medjed has been online**

 **Yusuke: This is a greater problem than simply finding their keywords. Unless you have any more ideas, Ryuji?**

 **Ann: Helloooo?**

 **Yusuke: …It seems he had suggested this without putting much thought into it**

 **Ryuji: C´mon, we can´t back down now! People are all excited about it! Our reputation´s gonna plummet if we don´t face this shit**

 **Yusuke: That is true. If we remain silent. People would believe we simply chose to run away from the matter.**

 **Makoto: Medjed has taunted us publicly, after all…**

 **Yusuke: If they are criminals, we cannot just let them be**

 **Ann: Yeah and we don´t have any other targets right now either**

 **Ryuji: Hey, Ren. Let´s talk to Mishima tomorrow. This is more of his thing**

 **Ren: Let´s do that**

 **Ryuji: Also, Makoto. Try seeing if your sister has any info on ´em**

 **Makoto: it´s highly unlikely, but sure**

* * *

 **7/19 Tuesday**

Ren entered school; he checked his notes and saw that he managed to make to the top five

-¨All right¨ he said

-¨Congratulations¨ someone said

He looked back and saw Makoto

-¨Thanks, what about you? ¨

-¨All fine, thankfully. Well, I will take my leave¨

-¨Makoto, listen¨ he scratch his head ¨Sorry for how I react yesterday¨

-¨Don´t worry, I crossed the line¨

-¨No, you were concerned, that´s what makes you a great friend, it´s just… Somebody I rather not to talk about¨

-¨Is she? ¨ she flustered ¨Your girlfriend? ¨

-¨Huh? No, nothing like that at all¨

-¨I see _Thank goodness… Wait, why am I relief?_ A-Anyway, let´s go to class¨

They both walked to their respective classroom, as the days went on, they tried to find info about Medjed, but couldn´t get anything,

Until

* * *

 **7/20 Wednesday**

-¨Hey, your phone was buzzing earlier¨ Morgana said under Ren´s desk

He took it out, it was from an unknown account, it had the logo of a weir cat creature with a devilish smile

 **Nice to meet you. I am the one they call Alibaba. I want to ask you something. You´re a Phantom Thief, aren´t you? Can you really steal hearts?**

The two got alarmed

-¨Who is this? Why does he know that you´re a Phantom Thief? ¨ Morgana asked alarmed

 **Alibaba: There is someone whose heart I would like you to steal. But I´m not asking for charity. Let´s make a deal. You wish to know about Medjed, correct? I can give you the information on them if the change of heart is successful. If you so desire. I can take care of them as well. Do you believe in my skills? I can track down their accounts, just as I have with yours, but this is all I can prove at the moment. I´ve prepared the necessary tool on my end. Look forward to it**

 **Ren: Who is this?**

He tried to send his respond, but he got an error message

-¨Hm? You can´t reply back? We should let everyone know about this¨ Morgana said

* * *

After school, the gang met at their spot, where Akira showed them the conversation

-¨Considerin he mentioned stealing hearts, he knows, doesn´t he? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Seems so¨ Makoto got worry

-¨How were we found out? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨He may have traced our chat log¨ Makoto said

-¨How careless of us¨

-¨But how would he have known all these details with just that? ¨

-¨Is it that easy to look at someone´s else chat log? ¨ Ann asked

-¨It´s probably not impossible, I think? ¨ Makoto said

-¨How is it done? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Maybe they extracted our phone´s data? ¨

-¨Why´s Ren getting an error when he tries to reply? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Perhaps the receiving end doesn´t exist?

-¨That´s possible? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Don´t ask me everything. I told you that I don´t know much about it¨

-¨Ok everybody, settle down¨ Ren said

-¨Yeah, sorry¨ Ryuji said

-¨Wait. Might this be what is referred as hacking to as hacking? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Then, does that mean this guy´s a hacker? ¨ Ryuji asked surprised

-¨I don´t get this high tech stuff, what does this all mean? ¨ Morgana asked

-¨An unknown hacker contacted us¨ Ann said

-¨Is this person Medjed? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨I doubt it, considering he says he wants to ¨deal¨ with them¨ Makoto pointed out ¨That is, only if we take his words for face value¨

-¨Hey, wouldn´t be great if we got this guy on our side? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨But we know nothing about his identity at all. We can´t trust him¨ Makoto said

-¨Could this just be a prank? ¨ Ann asked

-¨He knows an awful lot for it to be a prank, then again, if he wanted to report us, I think he would´ve done it already¨

-¨He must have some sort of objective of his own. He did offer us a deal, after all¨ Yusuke said ¨I´m certain he´ll contact us again¨

-¨It´d be best if we stay together. If something happens, we can act at once¨

-¨So, somewhere we can wait and hide for long hours¨ Ann pondered

-¨How about Leblanc? ¨ Makoto asked Ren

* * *

 **7/21 Thursday**

Days later, Ren got a message from Alibaba, he got a name for the target, Futaba Sakura, just as the boss name, and after more investigation, they manage to connect the dots and maybe that she is Alibaba, they decided to go to the boss house in order to get some answers

-¨Nobody is answering, but the lights are on¨ Makoto said

Yusuke pushed the gate ¨Ah, the gate is unlocked¨

-¨Dude, you can´t go openin´ other people´s stuff¨ Ryuji said

-¨But look. The door seems to be slightly open as well¨

They heard thunders; Morgana said it would better to get inside

-¨Hello, sir? ¨ Makoto said ¨He is out, isn´t he? The door ahead is open, and I can hear the TV¨

They walked further into the house, a thunder stroke, somebody scream and the lights went off

-¨A scream!? What was that? ¨ Makoto asked scared

They heard more noises

-¨Let´s get out of here, please? Can we just go? ¨ Ann asked scared as well

-¨Could it be Alibaba? I mean, Futaba? ¨ Morgana asked

The others walked away

-¨Um, I´m sorry… Could I hold your hand? ¨ Makoto asked

Ren thought he heard wrong for a second, but he simply nod, Makoto grabbed his arm ¨ _I thought you said hand_ ¨ he thought

They heard more noises

-¨Eek! ¨ Makoto yelled

Ren grabbed her hand ¨Don´t worry, nothing will happen¨

-¨I can sense someone´s presence¨ Yusuke said

-¨Who is it? Who´s there? ¨ she asked nervous

Makoto felt her legs going numb

They turned around and saw some big white eyes, just as that, a lighting fell and the flash make it looked like a ghost

-¨Aaaah! ¨ Makoto yelled and grabbed Ren´s leg like her life depended on it, Ren put his hands on her shoulders

-¨Makoto, don´t worry¨ Ren said, luckily, it was dark, otherwise, you would see how much red his face was

-¨I´m sorryI´msorryI´msorry! PleasesavemeSis¨ she said fast

-¨Are you ok, Futaba!?¨ Sojiro said from outside

The others hid, Sojiro entered the house, he grabbed a flashlight and lighted the room

-¨I´m sorryI´msorryI´msorry! Somebodypleasesaveme…¨ she kept saying

-¨What are you doing in my house? ¨

-¨Ah¨ Makoto lift her head from Ren´s leg

-¨Well¨ Ren said

-¨You´re¨ Sojiro said

-¨Oh… G-Good… evening, sir… we… didn´t mean to intrude¨ Makoto said

 **Meanwhile, the others**

-¨Oh my god, this is way too good¨ Ann whispered, barely containing her laugh

-¨Smooth move you two¨ Ryuji said

-¨If only I brought my sketch book¨ Yusuke said

 **Back with the Ren and Makoto**

-¨Niijima-san! ... Wait, are you two dating? ¨

Both turned red at that question

-¨W-We´re just friends! ¨ Makoto clarified

-¨Yeah, what she said¨ Ren said

-¨Friends nowadays get that close to each other? ¨

They both look at each other, Makoto was still grabbing his leg and Ren was still grabbing her shoulders, they both separate

-¨That´s not it! This, um… Things happened… and¨

Deciding that they have made their friends suffered enough, the others showed up

-¨You kids are here too!?¨ Sojiro said surprised

They explained why they were at his house and decided to go to Leblanc

* * *

-¨Now, where do I start? ¨ Sojiro wondered ¨Futaba´s mother and I knew each other long before Futaba was born. Her mother was a bit of a weird one, but we got along well for some reason… She was sharp-witted, somewhat stern, a little socially inept, but always carefree… She truly was a great woman¨

-¨I see¨ Makoto said sad

-¨She always took care of both her work and Futaba, but I guess raising Futaba alone turned out to be though on her in more ways than one¨

-¨What about her father? ¨ Akira asked

-¨There wasn´t a father, or well, there probably was one. I don´t know him though. She never said a word about him, either. She was single when she gave birth to Futaba and single when she raised her. They were an ordinary, living family¨ he got quiet for a moment ¨But one day, she left… leaving Futaba behind¨

The worst idea came to Ren´s mind, but he needed to ask ¨Did she die? ¨

He nodded ¨Yes. She committed suicide¨

They all felt like something stroke them

-¨Threw herself into the street, right in front of Futaba´s eyes…¨

-¨Shocking doesn´t begin to describe that¨ Makoto said still stunned

-¨That's gotta be devastating for a kid¨ Ryuji said sad

-¨A lot happened after that, but I ended up taking custody of Futaba. At first she couldn´t talked to me, but she started to opening up to me little by little. That´s when I found out… Futaba blames herself for her mother´s death¨

-¨What!? But why!?¨ Ann asked

-¨That part she´s never told me. Then, a few months ago, she started getting real scared, even when nothing was happening. She´d say things like, ¨I hear voices…¨ and ¨Mom is looking at me¨

-¨Have you taken Futaba to a doctor? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨I wanted to, but she refused, even when I had a doctor come. She has become what you would call a shut-in and she doesn´t even let me come in her room, but yeah, her situation is why I couldn´t let you into my house¨

-¨Don´t worry about it¨ Ren said

-¨Thanks. What Futaba needs is a safe place where nobody will threaten her. Somewhere she can be at ease. That´s why I won´t do anything she doesn´t want. I don´t make her do anything she´s unwilling to either. Then again, I know that´s no way for her to live. It´s all I can do though¨

-¨Is that what you desire? ¨ Ren asked

-¨What I desire, huh… I want her to live happy like a normal person¨ he sighed  
¨Well, that´s that. So can you just… leave her be¨

Ren nodded

-¨I´m gonna head back then¨

And he left

-¨I feel awful for praying into his personal affairs¨ Makoto said ashamed

-¨No way in hell he´s abusing her¨ Ryuji said

-¨The reason why Futaba wants her heart stolen must be related to what happened to her mother¨ Ann said

-¨So she´d like to discard her feelings of pain, but can´t do anything about it herself¨ Yusuke pointed out

-¨Will changing her heart really help her though? ¨ Ann asked

-¨If we can help her, we may be able to stand up to Medjed¨ he said

-¨We do need clues¨ Ren said

-¨Hold on a sec. Do we even know if she has a Palace? ¨ Ryuji asked ¨Let´s check¨

And they got a hint

-¨What the? ¨ Yusuke was surprised

-¨So someone can have a Palace even if they´re not evil? ¨

-¨The trains are gonna be shuttin down for the night, soon, so we should prolly be headin home¨ Ryuji said

And they all left to home, Ren started to clean up the place until somebody entered the door

-¨Makoto, what´s wrong? ¨

-¨Sorry to interrupt, but I needed to apologize¨

-¨Why? Because of being scared? Relax

-¨I just wish you hadn´t see me like that and I even clench to your leg like some sad dog¨

-¨It´s fine, I am glad I can help you; we are all scared Makoto, even me¨

She got quiet for a moment ¨Ok, maybe I am overreacting¨

-¨That´s the spirit, no go before you get late¨

-¨I will, see you tomorrow¨

She left the café and on her way home, she couldn´t stop thinking about different things, why was she blushing whenever she was close to him? Even in this small talk, she felt her head spinning but what could all mean

Her phone ringed, it was Ann

 **Ann: We need to talk**

* * *

 **And that´s the end for now, we have quite interesting questions here, who was that girl that cause Ren to get nervous and what exactly are Ren and Makoto feeling, and what does Ann has in mind? Would they be able to help Futaba? Stay tune to find out**

 **Anyhow, we have passed the 6000 vies, honestly, didnt thought i would pass the 500 but look at that, thank you all for your love and support, I love you all so much**

 **Now, there is something important I have to talk about, I am currently on a trip (nothing dangerous) I would still try to upload a chapter but I am the type of person who likes to have a contigency plan, so, if something were to happen to me, I leave this fic to PRemington900, since I trust in his skills and qualities as a person, so if something does happen to me, this fic would be in his hands**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any reviews or send a PM and I would gladly answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	10. The Temperature Raises

**7/25 Monday**

The gang was reunited at Ren´s room after school

-¨Man, that school meeting had me bored to tears¨ Ryuji said and yawn

-¨Huh? Did you have to go to school too, Yusuke? ¨ Ann asked

-¨I´m doing laundry, so these are the only clothes I had to wear¨

-¨You really should buy a couple more outfits¨

-¨Come now, we didn´t gather here to make small talk, didn´t we? ¨ Makoto said ¨Let´s get to Alibaba´s case¨

-¨It looks like Futaba was listening in on Leblanc¨ Morgana said

-¨Why would she want to listen in to a café¨ Ann asked

-¨I have no idea¨

-¨In any case, her hacking skills will be absolutely necessary if we wish to stand up to Medjed¨ Makoto said ¨Going by what she has told us, we may even be able to identify who they are¨

-¨We´ll have to trust in her skills for now then¨ Yusuke said

-¨We just gotta steal her treasure, right? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨If we heal Futaba´s heart, it would not only help Boss, but she can assist us with Medjed¨ Makoto said

-¨I agree¨ Yusuke said

-¨Hold on a second¨ Morgana said ¨Our investigation of her Palace may not go lie anything we´ve done up to this point¨

-¨Why is that? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Having an individual ask you to steal their heart is an extremely irregular case. There´s no telling what the Palace ruler´s disposition will be like. Or the distortion that´ll be there. We may run into some unforeseen situations. Do you still want to go in? ¨

-¨Yeah, let´s do it¨ Ren said

-¨All right. Let´s just make sure we´re cautious¨

-¨Well, let´s get crackin on those keywords, huh? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨The ones we have at the moment are ¨Futaba Sakura¨ and ¨Sojiro Sakura´s house¨

-¨We got the ¨who¨ and the ¨where¨, so all that´s left is the ¨what¨, right? ¨

-¨Let us try going to their house first¨ Yusuke said

-¨Boss is busy running the café, isn´t he? We should make sure he doesn´t suspect anything¨ Ann said

* * *

They left the café

-¨What is it that you wanted to talk about Ann? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Hmmm… Hey Yusuke, Ryuji, Ren, go on ahead, we will catch up with you¨

-¨Is there a problem? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Not really, we just want to have a girl talk¨

-¨This isn´t the time for that! ¨ Ryuji complained

-¨It would only be for a short while¨ Makoto said

-¨All right, but don´t take too long¨ Ren said and the guys went on

-¨So, what is it? ¨

Ann got a grin on her face ¨What´s between you and Ren? ¨

Makoto was surprised to hear that question ¨What do you mean? ¨

-¨Well, this may be only me but you guys are acting weird around each other¨

-¨No, we are not¨

-¨The other day you got completely angry just when Ryuji mentioned that girl and Ren was also red when you were around¨

-¨I did not get angry! And for your information, he told me that it wasn´t his girlfriend or anything, so case close ¨ she smiled proudly

-¨Oh, so you ask him about that? Interesting¨

Makoto realized what she said and got flustered

-¨Besides you two seem to be spending quite a lot of time together, or at least, that´s what people say at school¨

-¨He is just helping me with an investigation regarding a student, nothing else¨

-¨Suuuuure but, what about last night? You two seem way too funny, you clenching his leg, and him with your shoulders¨

-¨It was only an accident¨ she was more than embarrassed at this conversation

-¨Even the boss thought you were dating, do you like him? ¨

-¨Well, of course I like him, he is my friend and our leader¨

-¨That´s not what I meant¨

-¨Then what do you mean? ¨

-¨If you like ¨like¨ him¨ she made quotes when saying that

-¨Huh?...¨

-¨Hey you two, hurry up! ¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨We are coming! ¨ Ann yelled ¨Let´s go¨

-¨Ann wait¨ Makoto said ¨Why are you asking me this? ¨

She shrugged ¨I don´t know, guess it was curiosity, I thought you guys were something but if you say that you are not, then fine, although, you two would do a great match¨ she kept walking and Makoto stood there with her thoughts

-¨ _Match?... Wait, does she mean?_ ¨

-¨Makoto, is everything ok? ¨ Ren asked

-¨Huh? Oh yeah, sorry, I´m going¨

She began to move but deep down she kept thinking on what Ann said and her own situation whenever Ren was around, what could all mean?

* * *

They were all standing together in front of Futaba´s house

-¨Now, the last keyword…¨ Makoto wondered

-¨She is a shut-in, so we just gotta figure out ¨what¨ she thinks her house is¨ Ryuji said ¨If she can´t get out, maybe a prison? ¨

No

-¨Perhaps a labyrinth with an unknown exit? ¨ Makoto said

No

-¨Maybe an oasis? ¨ Ann said

No

-¨Nothing so far¨ Yusuke said ¨In that case, how about hell? ¨

No

-¨We don´t have nearly enough clues¨ Ann said

-¨If only we could ask her directly¨ Yusuke said

-¨We can. C´mon, let´s go see Futaba¨ Ryuji said

-¨But what will we say to get in? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨We´re sneakin in¨

-¨You have to be joking. Won´t the door be locked this time? ¨

-¨I´ll take care of that¨ Morgana said ¨Oh, and I figured out where Futaba´s room was when I snuck in last night¨

-¨What if we run into Boss though? There´s no way we´ll avoid his questions his time¨

-¨He´s at work now, so I think we should be fine¨ Ann said

-¨Getting cold feet, Makoto? ¨ Ryuji mocked ¨Don´t worry, it´ll be nothing. We´ve gone through loads of shit like this already¨

She looked at Ren and sighed ¨This is our only choice, right? I suppose Futaba did get in contact with Ren. Perhaps she will be willing to speak with him. Very well, let´s do this¨

-¨That´s the spirit, besides, you can always clench to Ren´s leg if necessary, same with him and your shoulders¨ he said mocking

Both got slightly red at that memory

-¨Seriously Ryuji? ¨ Yusuke asked with disappointment

-¨Hey, you were the one who wished to have his sketchbook¨

Everybody looked at Yusuke

-¨Why? ¨ Ren asked

-¨It was for artistic purpose, the demonstration of fear combined with the warm of friends helping each other, perfect¨ he framed the two of them ¨Would you be willing to do that again? This time I am prepared¨

-¨Do you still want to eat curry at Leblanc? ¨ Ren countered

Yusuke got quiet ¨You are evil my friend¨

-¨Ha! This is too hilarious, would totally see that picture Yusuke¨ Ryuji said

-¨Ann¨ Makoto said

-¨I´m on it¨

She got close to Ryuji

-¨What? ¨ he asked

And she slapped him in the head

-¨Ouch! What was that for? ¨

-¨So that you behave yourself¨ she smirked at him

-¨Ugh, whatever, let´s go¨

* * *

They all entered Futaba´s house and went to her room, Makoto knocked her door

-¨Futaba-chan? You´re in there, right? ¨

No answer

-¨Futaba-chan. Are you there? ¨ Makoto asked again a bit worry ¨I´m sorry for being startled and screaming yesterday. It was so dark that I got scared¨

Again, silence

-¨No reaction whatsoever¨ Yusuke said

-¨This is gonna be hard¨ Ryuji said

-¨You´re listening right, Alibaba? ¨ Makoto asked

Ren´s phone ringed

-¨Is it Alibaba? ¨ she asked

 **Alibaba: Why are you here?**

-¨Why´s she only reacting to that name? ¨ Morgana asked

-¨You´re Futaba Sakura, aren´t you? ¨ Makoto asked

More silence

-¨Does she not like us saying her name? ¨ Ann asked

-¨We don´t have time to dally around. We need her keyword before dealing with Alibaba´s identity¨ Morgana said

-¨We want to learn more about you. If we don´t do so, we can´t steal your heart¨ Makoto said ¨The reason we came here is because we need the keyword to enter your Palace. That´s why we want to talk with Futaba Sakura herself, and not Alibaba¨ she looked down to the floor for a moment ¨You don´t have to show yourself. Just answer some questions for us. Chat messages are fine¨

Ren´s phone ringed again

 **Alibaba: Ok**

-¨We are counting on you, Ren. Try and get a keyword out of her¨ Makoto said with a little smile

 **Alibaba: What do you want to hear?**

 **Ren: How´s living in this house?**

 **Alibaba: It´s painful**

 **Ren: Why don´t you go out?**

 **Alibaba: I can´t leave this place. I´m going to die here**

-¨Wha-Die…? ¨ Ann asked shocked

 **Alibaba: Is this going to continue?**

 **Ren: Why do you think that?**

 **Alibaba: Why? This place is my tomb**

-¨Tomb? ¨ Makoto asked confused

-¨You think that´s it? ¨ Ryuji asked

They tried it and

-¨Input accepted. Searching for route to destination¨ the nav. voice said

-¨We got it! ¨ said Morgana

-¨Well then, let´s hurry up and go¨ Ryuji said and grabbed Akira´s phone ¨Aaaaand clicky¨

Everybody got alarmed

-¨You idiot, don´t activate it here! ¨ Morgana yelled

But it was too late, the area surrounding them changed, now there was only sand

* * *

-¨It´s a desert¨ Yusuke said

-¨Wait, what the… Our clothes are still the same? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨Futaba herself is asking us to steal her heart. It´d be odd if she saw us a threat¨ Morgana said ¨But more importantly, I told you to be cautious! Why´d you activate it like that!?¨

-¨Is that why we ended up in a desert? Where´s the tomb? It´s so damn hot here¨

-¨She must really want to keep people away from her¨ Makoto pointed out

-¨Let´s hurry up and get going. Where´s the Palace? ¨ Ryuji asked´

-¨Is it that way? ¨ Morgana said

They all saw something shiny in the horizon

-¨Isn´t that kinda far? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Are we gonna walked? ¨ Ryuji asked worry

-¨Of course not! ¨ Morgana shook his head ¨My paws will get burned! ¨

He turned into a car

-¨I´ll make sure to put the AC on full blast! ¨

They drive for a while, the heat really hitting them, the boys were behind sleeping

-¨It´s stuffy¨ Ann said, breathing heavily

-¨Yes, I know¨ Makoto said a bit annoyed ¨But it´s still beats opening the window to the hot desert air¨

Ann rest her back on the seat, the sweat made their shirt glue to their skin and revealing what was underneath it

-¨Huh? ¨ Ann said and turned her head and saw that Ryuji and Yusuke were watching at her, Ryuji´s mouth wide open while Yusuke was deeply focussed

-¨Huh?¨ Ren was waking up ¨What are you guys? ¨

-¨Take this¨ Ann pulled the break and the car began to shake, sending the boys behind except for Ren who went over the seat and landed on the instrument board

-¨Ngh¨ he groaned in pain

-¨Ren, Oh my god, sorry! ¨ Ann said ashamed

-¨Are you all right? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Y-Yeah¨ he used his hands to raise himself from the board ¨But why on earth did you? ¨

He caught sight that Makoto´s bra was visible under her shirt, he quickly sit before being caught but couldn´t help but get red

-¨Is that it? ¨ Yusuke said pointing to something

¨There we go¨ Makoto said

* * *

There was a big pyramid surrounded by a village, similar to the ones of ancient Egypt

-¨It´s so hot¨ Ann said

-¨The AC ain´t working at all! The hell was that lukewarm air about!? ¨ Ryuji asked pissed

-¨That was the best I could do, so quit your yapping! ¨ Morgana yelled

-¨Stop, both of you¨ Ren said

-¨He started it! ¨ Ryuji and Morgana yelled

-¨And I am ending it¨

-¨To think her Palace would be a pyramid¨ Makoto said

-¨Hey, a pyramid´s a tomb, right? ¨ Ryuji said

* * *

They entered the pyramid

-¨Whoa, it´s so nice inside! Is this place air conditioned or something!?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨It may be because Futaba´s room in reality has AC pumping through it. Either way, this is a relief¨ Makoto said

-¨Huh, our clothes still haven´t changed even now. This has never happened to us before¨ Ann said

-¨It is refreshing that she doesn´t see us as a threat … but we are completely surrounded by walls¨ Yusuke said

-¨I guess this is a tomb… It´s probably not made to be easy to get into. Anyway, let´s explore¨ Morgana said

They climb up the stairs in order to go to the Treasure, but in the way, they found a girl with orange hair wearing robes

-¨Hey, is this? ¨ Ryuji said

-¨That´s Futaba´s Shadow. It isn´t the real her¨ Morgana said

-¨Oh yeah, you´ve seen your face. True. This one´s kinda dressed like a queen¨

-¨So you´re Futaba Sakura¨ Makoto said surprised

Shadow Futaba remained quiet

-¨Hey, where´s the Treasure? ¨ Ryuji asked

She remained quiet

-¨Don´t be like that! ¨ Ann yelled a bit angry, she got close to the Shadow ¨I´m sorry, Futaba-chan. It´s OK, there´s no need to be scared. So, can you tell us where your most treasured possession is? ¨

She remained quiet

-¨This is going nowhere¨ Yusuke said

They were about to leave, but

-¨Those who plumber my tomb. Why have you come? ¨ Shadow Futaba said

-¨She talked, but…¨ Ann said

-¨What are you saying? You want us to steal it? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨If you believe you can steal it, then try as you might¨

-¨That´s rather defiant sounding¨ Morgana said

-¨Perhaps this is that ¨tsundere¨ thing where someone is harsh and sweet depending on the mood¨ Yusuke said

-¨I highly doubt it¨ Ren said

-¨Considering the state that my Palace is in… There´s no way you can steal it¨ she said

They all heard voices in the air, saying things like murderer, and the Shadow Futaba bend on her knees, she then began to levitate

-¨That´s right. I did it¨

-¨What? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I am the one who killed my mother¨

The pyramid began to shake for a few seconds

-¨What was that?!¨ Ann asked alarmed

-¨My mother exists here¨ Futaba began to disappear ¨I will remain here. I will do so until I die¨ she was gone and the gang was now in their thieves outfits

-¨She see us as a threat now… What´s going on? ¨ Yusuke asked

The pyramid shook again

-¨What now?!¨ Ann asked

A boulder appeared and began to roll

-¨Oh crap! Bad, bad, bad! Ruuuun! ¨ Morgana yelled and they began to run as fast as they could, until

-¨Ack! ¨ Makoto trip and fell

-¨Queen! ¨ Ren quickly grabbed her hand and help her to keep moving

They managed to dodge the boulder by miracle

-¨We´re safe… that was close¨ Makoto said still catching her breath ¨Thank you Joker¨

-¨No problem¨

-¨Now what!?¨ Ann asked

-¨Even if we wanted to ask Futaba what´s going on, it seems the door is shut. What should we do? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨I think our best option is retreating for now¨ Morgana said ¨This won´t be as simply as we expected. Why don´t we prepare a little more, then come back? ¨

-¨Good idea¨ Ren said

-¨Ok¨ Makoto said ¨Then let´s retreat for now and return to the Palace another day¨

The other began to head for the exit

-¨Let´s go¨ Ren said

-¨Right¨ Makoto said

They began to walk, but stopped when they realized they were still holding hands

-¨Oh, sorry¨ Ren let go of her hand, slightly red

-¨It´s fine¨ Makoto said slightly red as well

They returned to the real world and had establish Leblanc as the base for their operations

* * *

 **7/26 Tuesday**

Ren got a call from Makoto, she wanted to talk to him regarding Eiko, so they met at the courtyard of Shujin Academy

-¨What´s wrong? ¨ Ren asked

-¨Apparently, Eiko has started to date a host from a club near her work. I guess he, um… hit on her one day after her shift, and that was that. Since then, he´s the only thing she´ll talk about. She even sent me a picture of their date at Destinyland¨

-¨He sounds suspicious¨

-¨You think so as well? ¨ she put her hand on her chin ¨For now, it seems he hasn´t forced her to spend any money at his club, but I´m still nervous. Beyond that, he calls her his ¨princess¨ and constantly tells her how special she is. It makes me sick to my stomach. But Eiko refuses to listen to me. She said the idea that all hosts are bad people is outdated. She even said she was shocked to be getting advice from someone who would ¨totally flunk a test about love¨ she got angry and glared at Ren ¨Tests about love aren´t a thing though… and even if they were, I most certainly wouldn´t flunk them! ¨

-¨Ok, I believe you¨ he raised his hands

-¨S-sorry about that¨ she was embarrassed

-¨ _I don´t want to see her reaction if she ever fails an exam_ ¨ he thought

-¨I´m probably just being biased towards him. I mean, I don´t have any proof that he´s untrustworthy. But that´s why I want to meet him and find out for myself what kind of person he really is¨

-¨Good thinking, but how? ¨

-¨Well, if it´s not too much to ask, I´d like you to accompany me on this excursion as well¨

-¨Sure¨

She got flustered ¨This time, umm… you´ll have to play the role of my boyfriend¨

Ren thought for a second that he heard wrong

-¨I got this¨ he showed her a smile

Makoto smiled too ¨It´s honestly OK? You´re so reliable, Ren. I think if I have a boyfriend, Eiko might be more inclined to listen to me… To tell you the truth… I actually already made plans with her and her boyfriend for a double date. Sorry, but it´s just going to be at a diner. Nothing particularly fancy, I promise¨

-¨It´s all right¨

-¨Thank you! You´re a tremendous help. I´m so glad you agreed to this. I don´t know who else I´d have asked if you had said no¨

-¨No problem¨

-¨That being said¨ she looked away ¨I think it would be better if we practice first¨

-¨How? ¨

-¨Well, we could start by holding hands together, let´s just walk for a few blocks¨ she turned red ¨Only if you want though, I am not forcing you or anything¨

-¨Makoto¨ Ren put a hand on her shoulder ¨Take it easy, I said I would help you¨

-¨Thank you very much¨

They leave the school and stand in an alley

-¨Ok, let´s start¨

With hesitation, she gently put her hand on his and he closed it a bit

-¨How is it so far? ¨ Ren asked

-¨G-Good, now, let´s walk a bit¨

They walked through Shibuya, simply looking at their surroundings

-¨S-So? ¨ she asked

-¨I think we are doing a good job¨ he said ¨We just have to keep until it feels natural¨ Ren said ¨Where do you want to go? ¨

-¨Well, we could go to Leblanc¨

-¨All right¨

And they went to the restaurant, talking about different things like a normal couple would

-¨Here we are¨ Ren said

-¨Good, I believe it all went well¨ she got worry ¨I didn´t sweat or anything, right? ¨

-¨No, did I? ¨

-¨No, you were fine¨

-¨Test passed¨ he smirk at her

-¨Very funny¨ she rolled her eyes ¨I´ll be going now, let´s meet up in order to go to Futaba´s Palace¨

-¨Sure, I´ll let you know when¨

-¨See you¨ and she began to walk home

Once each was in their own, they looked at their hand, the ones they used to hold each other hand, all the tenderness, the feeling of joy and more inside them, they were only pretending, then why ? Could it be that there´s was more?

-¨Was… Was Ann right? ¨ Makoto asked herself ¨Do I feel something more intense for Ren? ¨

-¨Do I feel something more intense for Makoto? ¨ Ren asked himself

She shook her head, she couldn´t think about something like that, she had other things to worry about, then why she couldn´t stop thinking about him?

As for Ren, if he did felt something for her, how does she fill for him? He shook his head, they were only pretending, nothing more, nothing less, at least that is what he told to himself, but why he couldn´t stop thinking about her?

* * *

 **And that´s the end for now, Ann has become the shipper of** **Ren** **and Makoto (She won´t be the only one that ships them, that much I can tell you), what would happen now? What exactly are they feeling for the other? Will they help Futaba? Stay tune to find out**

 **And look, is the 10 chapter, hooray, let´s go for ten more people, thank you for your support until now**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any reviews or send a PM and I would gladly answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	11. The Thief and The Mouse

**7/29 Friday**

After proper preparation, the gang returned to Futaba´s Palace, they got out of the van

-¨Hey, we´ve changed into our phantom thief costumes¨ Ann said

-¨That proves she see us as a threat now¨ Morgana pointed out ¨Let´s be careful! ¨

-¨Let´s begin our beautiful work¨ Yusuke said and they all went inside of the pyramid

* * *

Once inside, they went to the staircase and saw that it was blocked by a big door

-¨So it still won´t open. We might just have to give up on it¨ Morgana said

-¨No point sittin´ around though. Whaddya wanna do, Joker? ¨ Ryuji asked

Ren grabbed his chin ¨Looking for another entrance¨

-¨Not a bad idea. Considering how humongous this building is, there have to be other ways in¨ Morgana said

-¨We will have to investigate every suspicious place we see, both inside the pyramid and out¨ Yusuke said

-¨Ugh, outside…!?¨ Ryuji groaned ¨You mean we have gotta deal with that heat!?¨

-¨No complaining¨ Makoto said ¨Let´s begin our investigation right away¨

They went to the exit, until

-¨Are you leaving? ¨ a voice asked, they turned around and there it was Shadow Futaba ¨Come back here. Let´s talk for a moment¨

They went towards her

-¨Welcome back. I had thought I would never see you again¨

-¨We´re only here ´cause we gotta be! I can´t believe you tried to drop a boulder on us! ¨ Ryuji complained ¨You want us to steal your goddamn Treasure or not? ¨

-¨Hm? Why don´t we make a deal? You wish to proceed further, yes? ¨

-¨A deal, you say? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨There is a town nearby. I would like you to take back that which the bandit there stole from me¨

-¨Oh yeah, I think I remember seeing a town a town on the way here¨ Ann pointed out

-¨If you bring back what was stolen back to me; I will give you a reward. I´ll even tell you how to proceed¨

-¨Can´t you tell us any more details? Anything about this bandit, or what was stolen? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨You´ll learn the information you need to know once you arrive¨

-¨We´ll need to head outside if we want to go to the town. We can go when you are ready, Joker¨ Makoto said

They left the pyramid and Morgana drove them to the town

* * *

-¨We´ve arrived. This has to be the city Futaba´s Shadow mentioned¨ Morgana said

-¨Thieves stealing stuff from another thieve, huh? That´s quite the irony¨ Ann said

-¨Meh, we are six and based on what the Shadow said, it is only one bandit, this would be piece of cake¨ Ryuji said

-¨Don´t you think you are pushing our luck? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨I agree with Skull, besides, is just another guy that we got to steal from, not so hard¨ Ren said

-¨If you say so¨ Makoto said a bit unsure

They begin to explore the town, until arriving to a square

-¨Hey, guys. You lookin´ for something? ¨ somebody asked

They turned around and saw a Shadow covered with robes and a saw

-¨Heh, I thought I heard someone rustling around out here… and here y´ all are. Welcome to the desert, fellow trader¨

-¨Hm? What does he mean by trader? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨We don´t care about your welcomes. You´re a bandit, right? Just cough up the thing you stole¨ Ryuji said

The bandit let out a chuckle ¨Ha! Well ain´t this interesting. A group of criminals coming after a fellow trader¨

-¨ _Yeah, we were discussing the irony a moment ago_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨Well, you´re gonna have to catch me if you want it¨ and the bandit run away

-¨Wait…! ¨ Ann yelled, she glared at Ryuji ¨Ughhh, you just had to scare him off, Skull! ¨

-¨Me!?¨ Ryuji asked outraged

-¨We´ll have time to talk later¨ Makoto said ¨Let´s get after him¨

They began to chase the bandit, finding him in an alley

-¨Hey, I said wait! ¨ Ryuji yelled ¨We´re¨

-¨You´re too slow, moron. You´ll never catch me at this rate¨ the bandit mocked and run away again

-¨He ran off again! Hurry up and catch him, fast! ¨ Morgana yelled

They kept chasing it

-¨Hahaha, you tired already? What a bunch of losers… Grave- robbing is a game of stamina, you know? ¨ the bandit laughed at them and escape for the third time

-¨He sure likes to play hide and seek¨ Ren said a bit annoyed

-¨We´ll never catch him if we do nothing but follow his path… We should corner him somewhere¨ Makoto suggested

-¨Corner him? But how? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Let´s use that square from earlier. We can sneak around him and trap him in there! ¨

They went through different alleyways, this cause the bandit to entered into the square

-¨Yo bandit! What´s the matter? Not runnin anymore? ¨ Ryuji asked with sarcasm

The bandit clench his fist ¨Don´t even think about coming´one step closer¨

-¨Give us what you stole¨ Ren said

-¨Heh, don´t be ridiculous. You´ve gotta let me go, I mean, you guys came to raid that tomb too, right? Why don´t we work together and share the plunder? ¨

-¨Don´t talk to us like we´re the same as you! We came here to save Futaba-chan¨ Ann said

-¨So you wanna do this no matter what, huh? Well, in that case… I guess I don´t have a choice! ¨

The Shadow transformed, revealing a giant bird like creature dressed as a pharaoh

-¨Figures as much, let´s get started. Persona! ¨ Ren called Arsene, the gentleman wrapping the enemy with dark energy, causing damage

The bird made a shriek and released a wind attack against the trickster, who withstood it

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto called her Persona, using Frei, she create a little explosion

-¨This is my other self ¨ Yusuke called Goemon and released ice fragments against the enemy

-¨Whoop them Persona! ¨ Ryuji called his Persona and electrocute the creature

The Shadow used an attack that wrapped Makoto with pinkish orbs, brainwashing her

-¨Queen got brainwashed! ¨ Morgana warned

She look to her side, she saw the enemy and try to punch it ¨Out of my way! ¨

But it wasn´t the Shadow, it was actually Ren

-¨Queen, snapped out of it! ¨ He yelled, dodging her attacks

-¨Hang in there! ¨ Ryuji used a paper fan and hit her on the head, hoping that would get her back to her senses

-¨Huh? ¨ she came back to herself ¨What?!¨

-¨Oh good, you are back¨ Ryuji said

-¨Are you all right? ¨ Ren asked

-¨Y-Yeah, but what happened? ¨

-¨Tell you later, we have a battle to win¨

-¨R-Right¨

-¨Persona! ¨ Yusuke used his Persona and dealt more damage

-¨Captain Kidd! ¨ Ryuji called Captain Kidd and used a strong blow, causing the Shadow to be confused

The creature tried to use another brainwashing attack, but nothing happened

-¨This is it! ¨ they all performed an All-Out Attack

-¨This will end it! ¨ Morgana said

After dealing several blows at full speed, Ren adjust his gloves and said ¨Who is out of stamina now?! ¨

-¨We won! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed ¨Oh, he dropped something¨ they got a papyrus

-¨Is this… some kind of papyrus parchment? It looks like there´s something written inside¨ Morgana said

-¨Hey, no peeking at a girl´s belongings without her permission! ¨ Ann said

-¨Y´know, just what the hell´s happenin in her heart? ¨ Ryuji asked ¨There´s this bandit, those weird voices saying ¨you killed her¨ and who knows what else. It´s a total freaking mess¨

-¨Futaba´s supposed to be the queen of this Palace, but even she can´t control it? ¨ Ann asked

-¨I don´t know… I´ve never seen a case like this¨ Morgana said

-¨Regardless, we have no more business in this city. Shall we head back, Joker? ¨ Yusuke asked

They left the town, while driving through the desert, Makoto spoke

-¨Excuse me Joker, but can I ask you something? ¨

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨Just what happened during that battle? Some of my memories are cloud, one thing I remember getting attacked by the enemy and next thing; you are in front of me all agitated¨

-¨… Nothing you should worry¨ he waved off the topic

-¨If you say so¨

Ren was worry, it was bad to lie her, but if he told her that she tried to attack her, nobody knows how she would react

* * *

Back at the pyramid, the group encountered with Shadow Futaba

-¨We´re back¨ Ryuji said ¨This is the thing you said they stole, right? ¨

-¨Well done. It is yours now¨

-¨Wait, what? ¨ Ann asked confused ¨Didn´t you want us to get it back because it was important? ¨

-¨That is a map of the tomb, stolen by the bandit to aid in his ransacking of this place¨

-¨Why are you letting them just do whatever they want? This is your Palace, isn´t it? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨All that matters is that map is now yours. Just come further in and… Oh¨

The pyramid shook

-¨What in the? ¨ Yusuke said

Shadow Futaba disappeared

-¨Huh? Futaba-chan disa¨ Ann said but

The floor under them opened

-¨Goddammiiiiiiiit! ¨ Ryuji yelled as they fell

They landed on quicksand, swimming with all their might, they manage to get out

-¨Hey, you guys still alive? ¨ Ryuji asked while panting

-¨Oww¨ Ann complained ¨First a boulder, then this… Did we piss her off somehow? ¨

-¨I don´t think it has anything to do with us angering her¨ Morgana said ¨I suspect the problem is that she can´t control her instinct to push people away from her¨

-¨A simple defense mechanism¨ Makoto wondered ¨Considering what she´s been through, I don´t blame her for mistrusting others¨

-¨Joker, let´s save her! We´ve gotta help Futaba-Chan open the door to her heart! ¨ Ann said

-¨Of course¨ he replied

-¨I have no objections, but we should worry about ourselves first and foremost. Come on, let´s look for a way back above ground. Otherwise this place is going to end up our tomb too¨ Morgana said

They began to go upwards, and after securing an alternative entrance, they found another way blocked by a powerful Shadow

-¨Welp, we got our way out. Now can we kick that thing´s ass!?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Here we go¨ Ren said

-¨Brace yourselves. This is definitely no normal enemy! ¨ Morgana warned

They approach the Shadow

-¨FOOLISH GRAVE ROBBERS. YOU HAVE ENRAGED THE GUARDIANS OF THIS PLACE. HENCE, THERE SHALL BE NO PATH FORWARD FOR YOU, IT IS TIME YOU PERISH! ¨ The Shadow exclaimed

-¨Wanna bet? ¨ Ren asked with a smirk

The Shadow transformed into a coffin, it got its hand out of it and throw a spell, transforming Ann into a mouse

-¨Panther´s a mouse now! ¨ Morgana yelled worry ¨Oh, she doesn´t stand a chance like that! ¨

-¨Joker, we should get its attention, hopefully that transformation is only temporal¨ Makoto said

-¨Understood, Persona! ¨ Ren summon his vigilante Arsene and throw an ice attack to the coffin

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto ride her bike and used a nuclear attack

-¨This is my other self! ¨ Yusuke called Goemon and used an ice attack as well

The Shadow used a spell and called a naked half woman and half snake creature

-¨ _Can´t fight on your own, huh?_ ¨ Ren thought ¨Let´s go! ¨ he used an ice attack agains the snake-like thing, knocking it off balance

-¨Whoooaaa! Looking cool, Joker! ¨ Morgana congratulated him

He then used another ice attack against the coffin

-¨I´ll use my Persona! ¨ Makoto used Vajra Blast, creating a big explosion that damage both enemies

-¨Persona! ¨ Yusuke once again attack with ice pieces to the Shadow snake, but the creature used some sort on spell and drain energy from Ann

-¨Panther, hang in there! ¨ Morgana yelled

-¨Persona! ¨ Ren called Arsene and used an ice attack once more, gaining the advantage ¨There! ¨ he used Media to heal his teammates

Ann returned to her normal form

-¨Ugh, you little! ¨ she used a fire attack against the coffin

Yusuke took out his gun and shoot to it

The Shadow called two more snake-like creatures

-¨Let´s go! ¨ Ren used bufu on the two snakes ¨You are mine! ¨ he proceed to use a wind attack against the coffin, knocking it off balance

-¨Do it! ¨ they performed an All-Out Attack, destroying the two snakes and the coffin took quite the damage

-¨Johanna! ¨ Makoto used another nuclear attack, followed by Ann who used another fire attack and then Yusuke proceed to use another ice attack

The Shadow fell to the ground, it appeared to be defeated

-¨Is it over? ¨ Yusuke said

Makoto got closed to it, suddenly the creature got up and catching her off guard, it threw a spell to her

-¨Queen! ¨ Ren pushed her out of the way and got hit by the spell, turning into a mouse

-¨Joker! ¨ Makoto yelled worry

-¨Let´s take this asshole down! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed angry

The others performed an All-Out Attack on their own, defeating the creature for good this time

-¨Now is over! ¨ Ann exclaimed

-¨What a low trick, pretending to be defeated¨ Yusuke said

-¨Are you all right Queen? ¨ Morgana asked her

-¨Yes, I am fine, but…¨ she looked at Ren, who was still a mouse ¨Joker is still a mouse¨

-¨For real? But we took that thing down! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨It should be fine, I mean, I returned to normal¨ Ann said

-¨That´s a good point, but we should move out before more enemies appears¨ Yusuke said

-¨Let´s take him outside for now, it is much safer there, does that sound good, Joker? ¨ Morgana said

Mouse Ren nod his head

-¨Here, let me help you¨ Makoto bend down and put both of her hands on the floor, the mouse got into them ¨Let´s go¨

They began to head out for the exit, Makoto looked at Mouse Ren and she noticed that he was scratching his little ear; she thought it was cute and blushed a bit

* * *

Once outside, she lowered Mouse Ren in the sand

-¨Now let´s wait, it shouldn´t take that long¨ Ryuji said

And they wait and wait, seconds became minutes and after an hour, nothing happened, Mouse Ren was stretched at the sand, the heat affecting him more than the others

-¨Ok, what the hell is goin on? ¨ Ryuji asked pissed

-¨I… I don´t know¨ Morgana said worry

-¨You guys don´t think he is going to stay like that forever, right? ¨ Ann asked nervous

-¨We defeat the Shadow, so why? ¨ Yusuke wondered

Makoto was getting worry, what if it was her fault that Ren stays like that forever?

-¨This can´t be happening¨ she said ¨What are we gonna tell boss? ¨ she covered her mouth concerned

-¨He barely leaves me live there, a rat in a restaurant doesn´t sound like a good idea¨ Morgana said

-¨Mona, don´t think about eating him or anything! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨That is a misconception about cats and I am quite offended by that¨

Makoto bend down next to Mouse Ren ¨Joker…¨ she took him on his hands ¨This my fault¨

Everybody looked worry at her

-¨I´ll take him to my house, at least until we figured out something¨

Suddenly, a cloud of steam came out of her hands, she felt them going heavier, and now in front of her, there it was Ren back to normal, being hold by his hands and back

-¨J-Joker! ¨ Makoto said surprised

-¨You are back! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨Are you ok? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Y-Yeah, although I have the urge of eating cheese¨ he said half joking

-¨I am sorry Joker, this is because of me¨ Makoto said ashamed

-¨It´s fine, I am back to normal, which is all that matters¨

-¨No, is not that simple, I left my guard down so easily¨ she left him go ¨Let´s just keep moving, I´ll make up for this, I promise¨

He let out a sigh ¨You hear her, let´s go¨

* * *

They went back inside and returned where the battle took place and entered a room where there was a giant ballista and a button as well

-¨What´s this thing, some kinda button? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Think before you go touching that, OK? It might be a trap¨ Morgana said ¨Although, I´m curious about it myself¨

-¨Let´s press it¨ Ren said

-¨As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Very well¨ Makoto said

Ren pushed the button and the ballista fired an arrow that made a big hole in one of the walls, from which a light came out and illuminate the door, they went to check and fortunately, it opened

-¨Oh, hey! It´s open! ¨ Ann exclaimed happy

-¨So shining light upon the door is what caused it to unlock¨ Yusuke said

-¨Wait, doesn´t that mean we can open the door at the great stairs the same way?!¨

-¨That´s a definite possibility ¨ Makoto said ¨In any case, we should push on¨

They continue exploring the chamber, finding two orbs on two Anubis statues and they arrived to a room where there was a big board reflecting light

-¨Hey, is that? ¨ Ryuji said while pointing with his finger

-¨The door to the great stairs! That means we are directly above where we ended up after coming through the front entrance¨ Yusuke pointed out

There were two little pedestals; Ren put the orbs in both of them

The two walls near the reflecting board emanating light move and it now aimed to the door, unlocking it

-¨All right, we got it! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed

-¨So shining light upon it is what causes to open. That is the same as the door underground¨ Yusuke added

-¨We can´t rest on our laurels though¨ Makoto said ¨Let´s stay cautious and proceed forward¨

They climbed down and headed to the door, which opened for them, so they went upstairs

-¨Hrm? ¨ Morgana wondered ¨This feeling… Maybe there´s a safe room…¨

They check it and indeed there was a safe room

-¨Let´s take a break¨ Morgana said

They all took seats

-¨How are you all holding up? ¨

-¨I am sorry, but I am starting to lose focus¨ Makoto said

-¨Same here¨ Ann said

-¨I still have energy to spare, maybe we should switch teammates¨ Morgana suggested

-¨Count me in! ¨ Ryuji said

-¨No, I can still go on¨ Makoto said

-¨I don´t think that would be wise Queen¨ Yusuke said

-¨But¨

-¨I will have to agree with Fox, Mona and Skull will join the front lines, Queen and Panther will cover our backs¨ Ren said

Makoto sighed ¨Very well¨

After some minutes, they began to head out, but

-¨Queen, hold on a moment, I need to discuss something with you¨ Ren said

-¨Huh? ¨ Makoto was confused

-¨Can you guys wait outside¨ he asked the others

-¨Very well, but don´t take too long¨ Morgana said

Once the others were outside of the Safe Room, Ryuji talked

-¨What do you think they are going to talk? ¨

-¨I have no idea¨ Yusuke said

-¨What do you think Panther? ¨ Ryuji asked her

-¨Who knows¨ she shrugged

-¨Those two have been acting weird around each other, what is going on between them? ¨

-¨Don´t pry into other people privacy, Skull¨ Morgana said

Ann let out a giggle

-¨What´s so funny Panther? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Oh, it´s nothing¨

 **Meanwhile, with Ren and Makoto**

-¨What is wrong Joker? ¨

-¨Are you all right? Be honest

She let out a sigh ¨I just wish I wasn´t slowing you down¨

-¨Queen, don't worry about what happened before¨

-¨No, it was a call of attention, I need to push myself harder¨

Ren sighed, he understood why she was like this, she finally has the chance to help people, feel herself useful, but she didn´t want her to burn herself

-¨Queen, what are we? ¨

Makoto was surprised of that question ¨The Phantom Thieves? ¨

-¨Yes, Phantom Thieves, plural, we are a team, we don´t have to do everything on our own¨

-¨Joker¨ she looked down to the floor

Ren grabbed her hand

-¨Come on, you can´t let a little mistake depressed you, you are Queen, you can do anything¨ he knee down ¨Please your highness, join you humble servant and aid him on his quest¨

Makoto let out a laugh ¨With words like that, I suppose I can´t say no, very well, I will grant you my aid, my humble servant¨

-¨Great¨ he got up ¨Let´s go¨

He began to head to the exit

-¨Joker¨ Makoto said

-¨What is it? ¨

-¨Th-Thank you very much, for being for me¨

-¨Anytime my lady¨ he bowed

And both reunite with the others and began to explore the following chamber

* * *

After solving some challenges, they arrived to a room where there was another reflecting board

-¨There´s some kind of control panel here. Should we try doing something with it? ¨ Makoto asked

Ren pressed the panel and a picture appeared in a board hanging in the wall

-¨Is this… some kind of picture? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Odd. The design seems to be scrambled somehow¨ Yusuke pointed out

-¨Maybe it´s kinda like a puzzle? Joker, can you change the picture? ¨ Ann asked

Ren began to move the different parts of the picture and after some work, he put them on their proper place

-¨Ohh! It´s together! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed

-¨What´s this picture of? ¨ Ann asked

-¨This adult seems to be reading something to a crying child? ¨ Yusuke asked concerned ¨Hm, the emotions of the artist are often depicted in the art they produce… I can sense… serious pain harbored in her heart¨

-¨I should never have had Futaba¨ an adult voice said

-¨Is that voice coming from the mural? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨She was always such a bother¨ the voice said ¨It seems you caused your mother a great deal of trouble. Futaba-chan. She must have had some kind of maternity neurosis¨

The reflecting board moved and aimed to the picture, the light made the picture disappear and it aimed to the following door of the great stairs, unlocking it

-¨What was that? ¨ Ann asked surprised

-¨Based on its contents, it sounded almost like a suicide note¨ Makoto said

-¨Could that be what Futaba remembers of her mother´s suicide? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨But that´s a fuckin´ sick thing to do to a kid if that´s really how it all went down¨ Ryuji said angry

The gang climbed down and went to the door, they found another Safe Room, they decided to stop for the day and returned to the real world, once back, they went their separate ways

* * *

Later that night, Ren was sleeping, until his phone ringed

-¨Ngh, who can it be at this hour? ¨ Morgana asked a bit annoyed

Ren checked his phone and saw that it was a message from Makoto

 **Makoto: Sorry to disturb you, but there´s a movie that won´t be in theaters for much longer, it´s called ¨Like a Dragon¨, you know, the one by that famous director, it´s a summer special feature, and I´ve been curious about it for a while. I know we haven´t finish with Futaba´s Palace but, want to take this chance and go see it?**

 **Ren: Let´s go**

 **Makoto: Thanks! Let´s meet in front of the movie theater in Shinjuku**

 **Ren: Ok, see you tomorrow, Good night**

 **Makoto: Good night**

-¨Oh, you two are going to a movie? ¨ Morgana sked with a teasing tone ¨And later you say that nothing is happening between the two of you¨

Ren was tired and a bit annoyed, so he opened his window

-¨W-What are you doing? ¨ Morgana was terrified

-¨You must be tired, you should go to sleep¨

He grabbed Morgana and threw him out through the window

-¨Good night¨

And he went back to sleep

* * *

 **And that is the end for now, the infiltration begans and Ren as always is there for her lady and likewise, what would happen in the next chapter? Let´s just say thing will get steamy**

 **Also, I must apologize for taking so long in this chapter, I have exams to attend to, meaning that I have to study, but with that in mind, i have to announce you all that i am starting classes at college again, so updates will take longer than usual, I will do my best to update on the weekends but keep in mind this, but don´t worry, i won´t give up on this story, we are getting to the end of it, no matter what**

 **And great news, we have passed the 10000 views and I must say ¨This is so fucking cool¨ I can´t thank you enough guys for your support, you people are the reasonwhy I keep writing, it makes my day better knowing that you are enjoying my work, thank you very much and hope we can still go through this together, thank you very much**

 **Special shotout to PRemington900 for his help, I owe you a lot man, go check his work, is really great**

 **As usual, thank you for reading, leave any revies or send me a PM and I will gladly answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	12. Double Date, Two Dates

**Virtua Fighter and its characters belong to SEGA**

* * *

 **7/30 Saturday**

Ren arrived to the movie theater in front of Shinjuku, there was a line outside, clearly this movie has its amounts of fan, he caught sight of Makoto, who saved a place on the line, he run towards her

-¨Hey, how are you? ¨

-¨Fine, sorry I got here a bit early. I´ve been looking forward to this for some time, so…¨ she was a bit flustered

-¨It´s fine, at least we won´t have to wait a lot, we will get good seats¨ Ren replied with optimism

-¨Well, a famous director was responsible for this movie. Who wouldn´t want to see it? ¨ she tried to fake lack of interest

Ren let out a chuckle, but he decided to let go the topic

Makoto noticed that he wasn´t with his brown bag where he usually carries Morgana

-¨Where is Morgana? ¨

-¨Oh, he chose to stay at Leblanc¨

-¨Really ? I thought he would be interested in¨

Ren just shrugged ¨Maybe he wants some alone time¨

-¨Yeah, you are right¨

But what really happened was

* * *

 **Earlier, at Ren´s room**

-¨I can´t believe you throw me out like that last night¨ Morgana said, totally outraged at Ren´s act of animal torture

-¨Oh come on, you were only outside for like 2 minutes, besides, you landed on your feet¨ Ren said, he was getting ready to go to the movie theater

-¨Hmph, anyway, we should get going¨

-¨Yeahhhhhhhhh, about that, I was hoping you would stay here¨

-¨What? Why?!¨ Morgana asked shocked

-¨Well, Makoto and I are pretending to be a couple so we can get some info on Eiho´s boyfriend and I am not sure how much we can pretend with a talking cat with us¨

-¨Oh, so you want me to remain here the whole day? ¨

-¨Please, this is important, I´ll bring you sushi¨

-¨You really think you can buy me with some food? ¨

-¨Oh, too bad¨ he walked towards his shelf ¨Guess you won´t want this magazine I got here¨ he said sarcastically while waving a magazine

-¨What kind of magazine? ¨

-¨Just an interview that Ann got after a photo session she had a few days ago, she gave me and the others a copy of it, there are a few pictures here, but if you don´t want it¨

As soon as the name of Ann was named, Morgana quickly hug Ren´s leg

-¨Give it, give it, give it! ¨ the cat was like a kid that wanted a new toy

-¨Here you have it¨ he gave the cat the magazine ¨I am going to go now¨

-¨Yeah, yeah, have fun, don´t forget my sushi! ¨ the cat said, totally absorbed into the magazine

* * *

Ren and Makoto were waiting at the line for their turn to buy their tickets, but suddenly, Ren put his hand in Makoto´s hand and closed it

-¨U-um, what are you doing? ¨ she asked surprised

-¨I was just holding you hand, I mean, we are supposed to be pretending to be a couple, so I just thought it would be a good idea¨ he replied a bit nervously ¨We don´t have to if you don´t want to¨

-¨Um, no, I mean, you are right, it is for the purpose of our investigation, just caught me off guard, that´s is all¨ she felt the heat rising in her cheeks

-¨All right¨

-¨Next! ¨ the ticket seller said

-¨Two for ¨Like a Dragon¨ Ren said and paid for the tickets, despise Makoto´s insistence

-¨Ok, enjoy the movie with your girlfriend¨

-¨We are not a couple¨ he clarified

-¨But you are holding hands¨ the seller asked confused

-¨It´s a long story¨ Makoto said

-¨Oh, ok, still, enjoy it¨

And the two went to the screen room where the movie will be displayed

The movie started, it was a movie about a member of the Yakuza that got accused of the dead of his boss, and now he needs to clear his name and along the way he meets an orphan girl

As the movie went on, Ren caught sight of Makoto, her fist were clench and she looked at the screen with intensity

-¨ _Whatever she said before about the director was probably just an excuse. She loves this stuff_ ¨ Ren taught, but he was happy, after what happened at the pyramid yesterday and how much Makoto was worry, it was nice to see her having fun, besides, he learned some determination from the protagonist so it was a nice movie

Once it was over, they left the screen room and walked down the hallway

-¨Th-That wasn´t too bad¨ she said, she got quiet for a few seconds before asking ¨Um… Do you think it´s weird if a girl likes movies like this? ¨

-¨Not at all¨ he said

-¨R-Really!?¨ she was surprised to hear that ¨Thanks… I think this is the first time I´ve been told that¨

-¨Really? Why? ¨

-¨It´s nothing, never mind, anyways, sorry that I called you over so suddenly. It felt weird watching a yakuza film all by myself. I had fun, though, thanks to you¨

-¨Glad to hear it, I like it as well, where do you heard from it? ¨

-¨Oh, you know, just a recommendation¨

-¨Really? ¨ Ren asked with a smirk ¨It doesn´t have to do with the fact that it´s is based on a manga you were reading when you were following me around a few months ago? ¨

Makoto stumble a bit ¨Ah, excuse me? Following you around? Me?! ¨ she laugh nervously

-¨Makoto…¨

She sighed ¨Fine, you got me, as I was waiting for you to come out of a store, I started to read it and got into it… You must be thinking I am a weirdo¨

-¨Why would I think that? Is what you like, so there´s no problem¨

-¨Ren….¨ Makoto was stunned, if it was her sister, she would probably had told her to stop reading something like that ¨Thanks, I need it to hear that¨

-¨Anytime¨

Makoto phoned ringed

-¨It´s Eiko¨ she read the content ¨She is asking if we want to have the double date later today? ¨

-¨Fine by me¨

She replied and got a message with the time and place

-¨We still have some time before that¨ Makoto said

-¨Want to hit the arcade? It´s near the dinner where we are supposed to meet them, so we can kill a bit of time there¨

-¨All right then¨

* * *

They took a train and went to the arcade at Shibuya

-¨What do you think we should play? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨I got this one in mind¨ Ren pointed to a machine that said ¨Virtua Fighter 3¨

-¨Oh yeah, I think I had played this game a few times when I was little, I am surprised to see that it still exists¨

-¨Let´s us start the game¨ Ren crackled his knuckles ¨Show me what you can do¨

-¨Challenge accepted¨ Makoto replied ready for it

Both chose their characters, Ren went with the ninja character Kage-maru while Makoto chose the martial artist Akira and started the first round

The one to land the first hit was Ren, he used his ninja to performed a grabbed that send Makoto´s character to the air and he made his ninja jump towards it and grabbed it and make it land hardly at the ground once more, it lose quite the amount of health

-¨Hmph, you are good¨ Makoto said ¨But…¨

Makoto started her counter attack; she used her character to perform a combo that consisted of hit with both of his hand and then it dash behind the ninja and hurt it with its shoulder blade

-¨What the?!¨ Ren was caught by surprise

Makoto pressed the command and perform another 3 hit combo

-¨All right, not bad at all¨ he said

Ren rolled his character back to gain some distance and he made it run fast towards Makoto character´s and performed a drill kick

Makoto moved her character away from it, Ren´s ninja landed on the ground

-¨Here we go¨ Makoto made her character jump and went for a punch but Ren managed to made his character dodge just in time, taking opportunity of this, he made his character performed a grabbed, grabbing Makoto´s martial artist by the arm and passing it through his back and making it land on the floor

-¨This will finish it¨ he made his ninja jump and began to dive with his head towards her character

-¨Not happening¨ Makoto made her character rolled to dodge the attack, the ninja landed his head on the ground, leaving quite the opening, she took this opportunity to made a jump with a punch that hit the ninja and made it fly away a bit, throwing it out of the ring

-¨Ring out! ¨ the game announcer said as the ninja kept falling

-¨Done and done! ¨ Makoto exclaimed proudly

Ren was stunned, but he quickly composed himself ¨Not bad at all your majesty, but can you keep it up? ¨

-¨I should be asking you that¨ she said with a grin

-¨Oh, it is on¨

-¨Bring it! ¨

They kept playing more rounds, as they went on, they attracted some viewers

-¨Wow, looked at them¨ one guy said

-¨They are both good¨ a girl said

Ren noticed this, but he looked at Makoto, she was deeply focused, but there was a little smile on her face, she was truly happy, seeing her like this, enjoying herself after all she does at school and as a Phantom Thief, it made him happy

-¨Looks like we got some attention¨ he said

-¨Yeah, but too bad this has to end¨

She made her martial artist perform another 3 hit combo, knocking out Ren´s ninja

Makoto rise her fist up on the air to celebrate her victory ¨They felt that one! ¨

Everybody in the room looked at her and went quiet

Makoto noticed that everybody were staring at her and she quickly looked down and began to play with her fingers

-¨Um, well¨ she was crimson red

-¨Let´s give her an applause people¨ Ren said, beginning to clap, the other viewers follow suit

-¨Um, thank you, thank you¨ she waved her hand a bit

* * *

After the clapping was over, they left the arcade

-¨This was fun¨ Ren said

-¨I can´t believe I made something like that¨ Makoto said, clearly not totally over her little celebration pose

-¨Relax, it´s okay to show off every once in a while, plus, I have seen you doing that at Mementos or at Palaces, so I am used to it¨

-¨Oh, shut up¨ she punched her in the arm

-¨I want a rematch¨ he said

-¨I will look forward to that¨

She took out her phone ¨It´s almost time to meet with Eiko and her boyfriend; we should head to the dinner¨

-¨Yeah, I have to pick up something at a nearby store¨ he began to run

-¨But¨

-¨Don´t worry, I won´t take long¨ and he was out of sight

A few minutes passed and Ren has not showed, Makoto was worry

-¨Ren, where are you? ¨ she asked

-¨Hey, I am back¨ Ren said

Makoto turned around and saw Ren with something

-¨Huh? ¨

In front of her, Ren was standing with a bouquet of roses

-¨I got you this, hope you like them¨ he said

-¨R-Ren¨ Makoto did not know how to react; no one has done something like this for her, she took the flowers from him

It was at that moment where their hand once again connect, it brought memories of the first time they hold hands, the tenderness, the feeling of joy, it felt great for both of them

-¨Hey, Makoto¨ a girl said

Both of them saw Eiko walking towards them, she was accompanied by a man wearing a white suit with white pants, there was a blue flower pinning from said suit, he wore a necklace and had his hair covering his face as well as his T zone

-¨Eiko, hi¨ Makoto said

-¨Guess we got just in time¨ she replied, she noticed she hand roses on her hands ¨Ohhhhh, did your boyfriend gave them to you? ¨

-¨Huh? Oh, this? Yeah, he did¨ she turned to Ren ¨Th-Thank you¨

-¨No problem¨ he replied ¨Anyway, let´s get inside¨

And the two couples went inside the dinner and took their seats

* * *

Eiho´s boyfriend made a move with his finger and showed his teeth ¨Yo. My name´s Tsukasa. I heard all about you two from Eiko, so, I heard you´re the student council prez, Makoto-Chan? I totally wish I could be one of your council members¨ he winked at her and let out a chuckle

-¨Y-Yes, I am… Totally…¨ Makoto said, not knowing how to process that

-¨They have some standards for their members, you know Tsukasa? ¨ Ren whispered mockingly

Tsukasa looked at Ren ¨And Glasses- Kun over here is your boyfriend, yeah? ¨

-¨Y-Yeah…¨ she replied nervously

Tsukasa was suspicious ¨Huh. Looks like you guys don´t get along good though. It´s like your love level´s rock bottom. Are you seriously dating? ¨

-¨Love comes in many forms¨ Ren said

-¨R-Right! He doesn't really like it when I get all clingy with him¨ Makoto added with a little smile

-¨Ohhh, I get it¨ he said ¨You just don´t got any affection compared to us¨ he looked at Eiko, who nodded I agreement ¨Hey babe, did you do something special today? I don´t remember you looking this sexy¨ he began to tickle her under her chin

-¨Oh, Tsukasaaaaaaaa! ¨ she giggled

Makoto closed her eyes in order to not watch this; Ren began to wish he was blind

-¨Sorry, I hafta use the bathroom¨ she got up and walked towards it

-¨Later, lovebird¨ Tsukaka said

-¨ _Please, stop talking_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨Um, there´s something I´d like to ask you¨ Makoto said ¨Are you serious about pursuing a relationship with Eiko? ¨

He laughed a bit ¨Aha! I was wondering when our honor students was gonna show her true colors! That reminds me; Eiko said you were real pumped about getting to know me. Why´s that, huh? ¨

-¨I just wanted to make sure you´re good for her¨

-¨Daaaaaam girl, you really care about your friends, good stuff. I always say, friends are like, super important n´ shit¨

-¨ _I seriously doubt that you say that_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨Speaking of which, a friend of my GF is totally a friend of mine. How ´bout you tell me your digits? ¨

Ren got alarmed

-¨Huh? ¨ she was confused

-¨What´s wrong? C´mon, gimme your number¨ he took out his phone

-¨I-I, um…¨ she didn´t know what to do

-¨Don´t be so pushy¨ Ren interfered, glaring at him

-¨Nobody asked you, Glasses-Kun¨ he said angry ¨Anyways, Eiko already gave me yours, Mako-chan. We good¨

-¨ _Wait, what?_ ¨ Ren thought worry

-¨I do have one more question to ask…¨ Makoto asked with a glare as well ¨You´re not going to bring Eiko to your club, Are you? ¨

-¨What, you suspectin´me? I wouldn´t dream of it¨ he said quite offended ¨It´s a damn shame people think us hosts are just flirts¨

-¨Well, you aren´t doing a great job at proving us wrong¨ Ren said

-¨Excuse me Glasses-Kun? ¨

-¨Ren¨ Makoto said worry

-¨Ohhh, I get it¨ Tsukasa said ¨You are just jealous because all you can get to your girl is some cheap flowers, and you call that treat a girl nicely? No offense, but you are nothing special¨

-¨What did you say? ¨ Makoto asked outraged ¨You may be Eiho´s boyfriend, but I won´t stand while you insult mine like that, apologize to him! ¨

-¨It´s fine Makoto¨ Ren said, Makoto was surprised to hear Ren giving up like that ¨It´s nothing special¨ he lean in the back of his seat, crossed his arms and smirked at Tsukasa ¨Just like what there is between his legs¨

As soon as those words were said, Tsukasa almost fell to the floor; Makoto gasped and covered her mouth, a bit of red on her cheeks

-¨Why, you little! ¨ he was furious, but he composed himself ¨Whatever, Anyways, as for your question Mako-chan, my love with Eiko is pure as snow. Don´t twist the story¨

Eiko returned ¨Huh? Is something wrong? ¨

-¨Oh, I was just getting to know your little friend here, honey¨ Tsukasa said, deciding to ignore what just happened. Welp, I should get goin´. I´ve gotta be at work soon¨

-¨Ah, me too! ¨

And both left, Makoto crossed her arms worry ¨I hope he´s not tricking her, but no matter what i might think, I still don´t have any proof… and above all, Eiko seems really happy… Am I… just getting in the way of their happiness? ¨

Ren put a hand on her shoulder ¨No, you are being a friend¨

-¨I know, but in the end, this is just a hunch… but my father always stressed how important it is to trust hunches¨

-¨ _I wonder who her father was?_ ¨ Ren thought

Makoto phone ringed

-¨It seems that host has sent me something already¨ she read through the message but she couldn´t figure it out ¨What is this supposed to be saying? It´s full of emojis¨ she showed Ren the message, he read it

-¨It´s meee, Tsukasa *heart emoji* I no we just met but I cudn´t wait 2 *phone emoji* u. I´m so haP to b friends with u, MakoC. *clapping emoji* *clapping emoji* *hot springs emoji*¨ he fixed his glasses ¨Looks like something a drunk person would write¨

-¨That was barely a coherent sentence, but I´ll need to get used to that if I´m going to help Eiko. By the way, I´m glad you were here with me. I would have really panicked had I been alone; although I am amazed you told him something like that¨

-¨Oh come on, like you didn´t thought he earned it¨ Ren said

-¨Be as it may, let´s hope he won´t get mad with Eiko¨

-¨Don´t worry¨

-¨I honestly despise how much immature I can be sometimes… But I´m working through that with your help, so… thank you¨

-¨Anytime¨

-¨Anyway, we should get going, I´ll let you know if something comes up¨

-¨I´ll walk you home¨

And both went towards Makoto´s house

* * *

-¨Thanks for everything you did for me Ren, I have fun¨

-¨Same here, let´s hang out again other day, but know we should focus on Futaba´s case¨

-¨Yes, you are right and… thanks for the flowers¨

-¨No need to thanks, it is a gift after all, plus I am sure that would make Eiho believe we are a couple¨

-¨C-Correct¨

-¨Hey¨ he took out his phone ¨Want to take a picture of us? ¨

-¨Oh, sure¨

He lifted his phone and put his arm around her and held her closer

-¨Oh, sorry, you don´t mind if I do this, right? ¨

-¨N-No, I mean, it looks more convincing¨ she said flustered

The flash came out

-¨There¨ he said ¨It looks good. Anyways, I better be going, good night¨

-¨Good night¨ she said and went inside her house, she put the flowers on a vase and took it to her room, where she look at it ¨Ren¨

Her phone ringed, Ren sent her the picture he took, she looked at it, they looked so happy together, so real

Makoto shook her head ¨Pull yourself together Makoto, we are just pretending, once this is done, we will be back to normal, right? ¨

Meanwhile, Ren was on the train towards home, he took out his phone and saw the picture he took with her; they look so happy, so real, he shook his head

-¨Pull yourself together Ren, we are just pretending once this is done, we will be back to normal, right? ¨

That is the question both of them asked themselves

Ren decided to name this picture

 **¨A day with a great girl¨**

* * *

 **And that is the end of that, we got the double date we all been waitinbg for and hoo boy, Ren sure pulled some moves there, he truly is a gentleman and our Makoto is such a cute girl whenever she has fun, but now the question arises, it this just for the sake of the investigation or there is more? Our protagonist said that it is but what would happen next? Also, Ren is curious about her father and well**

 **Let me tell you that when the truth comes out, that is when this will start to get bad, how much you ask ? A LOT! MWAHAHAHAHA**

 **And hello everybody, I am back, i know i´ve been absent for a month but college is hard, specially since this is my senior year, but we are not giving up, we will come to the end, so thank you for your patience**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any reviews or comments or send a PM and i will gladly answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	13. The Awakening of a Hacker

**8/1 Sunday**

Once again, the gang returned to Futaba´s Palace, they entered the following chamber, once inside; they found a stone slab and Makoto read its content

-¨When red and blue align, an illusion will rise. Only proper guidance shall form a path¨

-¨Huh? What is it talking about?¨ Ann asked

-¨I haven´t the slightest idea. It may be some kind of hint¨

They decided to drop the subject for now and continue their exploration, until they encountered Shadow Futaba

-¨You´re late¨ she said a bit pissed off ¨What took you so long?¨ she began to walk away

Ryuji groaned in irritation ¨That´s it! I´ve had it up to here with her!¨

They tried to go after game, but then, the pyramid began to shake

¨Wait, this shaking…¨ Makoto said, realization hitting her

A boulder appeared and began to roll towards them

-¨Of course¨ Ren said, not surprised at all

-¨Shoot, this is bad! ¨ Morgana said ¨Get back!¨

They run back to where they came from, the boulder passing and falling on a hole into nothing

-¨I´m sick of this bullshit!¨ Ryuji said annoyed ¨What the hell is she thinkin!?¨

They tried to take the path again, but the pyramid shook once more

-¨Uhh, is this what I think…?¨ Ann asked, worry because she knew what was coming

Another boulder appeared, so they had to run away again

-¨We can´t proceed on like this¨ Makoto said ¨We need to do something about that giant boulder¨

They find a small vent between the walls, so they crawled through it and found another room with lots of coffin-like things

-¨This seems to be backside of that giant boulder trap¨ Yusuke pointed out ¨We should survey this place¨

They explored the area for a few minutes, until…

-¨A button and a slab, huh?¨ Morgana said

-¨There´s nothing visible on the slab¨ Makoto said ¨What do you think we should do?¨

Ren tried to push the button, but it wouldn´t budge

-¨Nothing is happening¨ Yusuke said

-¨That´s odd¨ Makoto said ¨Is it broken? Or could there be another step to this mechanism…?¨

Upon further investigation, they found another stone slab

-¨There´s a stone slab here too¨ Makoto said ¨But… there´s nothing legible inscribed on its surface¨

-¨Sounds pretty useless to me¨ Ryuji said ¨Whaddya wanna do, Joker? ¨

-¨Let´s take a closer look¨ he said and touched the slab, which it began to bright in blue

-¨Ohhh! It´s shinin!¨ Ryuji said impressed

-¨Hm, the devices controlling the murals seemed to react in a similar fashion¨ Makoto added

-¨Something showed up! ¨ Ann said ¨it says B01010!¨

-¨That may be a clue of some sort¨ Yusuke said ¨Either way, we should search to see if anything has changed¨

They return to the previous room, which it shook a bit

-¨Wh-What the…!?¨ Ann asked surprised

From the left line of coffins, holograms in the shape of giant spheres appeared, one was blue while the others were yellow

-¨So this thing´s link to the stone slab is what powers it¨ Morgana said

-¨Quite the impressive contraption¨ Yusuke added ¨Why don´t we examine it closer?¨

They went towards the coffins

-¨It seems the hologram´s coming from this coffin¨ Makoto pointed out ¨Should we try fiddling with the control panel?¨

Ren touched it and it turned off

-¨Try touching it again, Joker¨ she said

He did what he was told, and it turned on again

-¨I see… So it´s possible to turn it back on as well. It looks like we should be able to turn the holograms on or off by accessing each control panel. Do you think is related to that code from earlier¨

-¨Puzzle Time! ¨ Ren said with a bit of excitement

And indeed, after playing with the lights a bit, they managed to make the lights coincide with the code, so they went to push the button from before

The pyramid shook and the blue door opened

-¨Ah! The door opened! ¨ Ann said

-¨I suppose this is the first step in this process? The next device must be beyond this point¨ Yusuke said

-¨By the way¨ Ann said ¨What´s up with these things? Are they all because of Futuba-chan´s mental state? ¨

-¨It´s hard to say¨ Morgana said ¨But it does prove that she might not be as simple a target as we were hoping she´d be¨

-¨I wonder about the meaning behind that stone slab as well¨ Makoto said

-¨Hey, our path´s open now¨ Ryuji said ¨Can we just keep goin? ¨

They explore the new room, where they found another stone slab

-¨Look, there´s a stone slab here too¨ Morgana said

-¨Touching this one will probably activate it too¨ Makoto said ¨What do you want to do Joker? ¨

He pressed the slab, which it began to bright in red

-¨Woo! It´s lit up now, just like we were expectin!¨ Ryuji said

-¨There are red inscriptions on there this time. They say… R01100 and B10011¨ Makoto said

-¨If this code is similar to the prior one, these would surely be hints for those buttons¨ Yusuke added

They returned to the main room

-¨Aha! Look!¨ Morgana said

Both lines of coffins began to showed big spheres, one line started with a blue one while the other started with a red one

-¨Something changed in the room, just like we expected¨

-¨There should be some connection between that and the code that appeared on the stone slab¨ Makoto said

After solving the puzzle, the pyramid began to shake

-¨Whoa, what´s going on!?¨ Morgana asked alarmed ¨This is a stronger reaction than anything up to this point¨

-¨Guys, look! ¨ Makoto pointed upwards, where they saw lots of giant boulders rolling down

-¨Are those giants boulders rolling down the corridor? ¨ Morgana asked

-¨Dude, this ain´t stopping! ¨ Ryuji yelled ¨Is this gonna be OK!?¨

Ren pushed the button again, but the boulders moved faster

-¨Ngh! That only made it worse¨ Yusuke said

-¨Do something about this, Joker! ¨ Morgana yelled

-¨ _Time to kick it_ ¨ Ren thought, deciding he had enough, he kicked the button, which stopped the boulders from rolling

-¨Did it… stop?¨ Morgana asked nervously

-¨Is this what the slab could have meant by ¨form a path¨?¨ Makoto asked

They climbed the wall, where they saw that all the boulders were piled up in a line

-¨God damn! Talk about a mess! ¨ Ryuji yelled surprised

-¨It´s broken. Well, I guess it would be a little more precise to say we broke it¨

-¨ _Meh, it will be fine, she can send us the bill for the damage_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨We can´t get through like this! What´re we gonna do!?¨ Ann asked

-¨Perhaps we could walk over the giant boulders? ¨ Makoto asked ¨Let´s try it¨

* * *

And indeed they could walk over them, and found another room with another control panel as well as the pedestal reflecting a beam of light

-¨This is the same mechanism as the one we saw before¨ Makoto pointed out

-¨Then we just gotta touch it and make something happen, yeah? C´mon, let´s try it out¨ Ryuji said

Ren press the control and it display a scrambled puzzle

-¨Oh hey, it came on¨ Ryuji said ¨This one´s kinda hard to tell though¨

-¨It must be scrambled as well¨ Morgana said ¨Let´s use the controls to put it back together¨

After moving the pieces, the puzzle was rearranged; it showed the image of a woman jumping to a car while certain girl was crying

-¨It seems it is complete¨ Yusuke said

-¨Is she jumping in front of a car? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Could this be the moment when Futaba´s mother committed suicide…? ¨ Ann asked concerned

They started to hear voices

-¨F-Futabaaaaaa¨ a young woman voice said ¨Y-You… aaaaaaaaareee…¨

The pedestal began to reflect light on the puzzle, causing it to disappear and illuminating the gate at the main staircase

-¨She died right in front of Futaba´s eyes¨ Ryuji said, angry at the situation

-¨That´s horrible¨ Makoto said with sadness

-¨So, did her desire to forget those memories cause her to repress them? ¨ Yusuke asked

They climbed down and went towards the door at the stairs, which it began to open

-¨All right, it opened! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed ¨That was a breeze! ¨

-¨We´re pretty far in now, right? ¨ Ann asked ¨This has to be past halfway¨

-¨Yeah, the Treasure is definitely close. You better be excited! ¨ Morgana added

* * *

After climbing up the stairs, they entered to the following chamber and then

-¨Wait up! ¨ Ryuji said ¨Look, there she is¨

In front of them, there was Shadow Futaba

-¨You´re late. I thought all of you had died¨ she said annoyed

-¨ _Thanks for the vote of confidence_ ¨ Ren thought with sarcasm

-¨We almost did thanks to you! ¨ Ryuji complained ¨I mean, do you really wanna help us!? Make up your goddamm mind! ¨

-¨I´m not sure¨ she said ¨There´s not much at this point though¨ and then she disappeared

-¨Oh… Not again! ¨ Ann said worry ¨This is all because you picked on her, Skull! ¨

A Shadow Coffin appeared

-¨Your short temper has created more work for us¨ Yusuke added

-¨This is my fault!?¨ Ryuji asked outraged

-¨Leave the guy alone!¨ Ren said

-¨Thanks Joker¨

-¨That does not change the fact that you should keep your cool¨ he added

-¨Dude, which side are you on?¨

-¨WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON THE PEACE OF THIS HOLY GROUND?¨ the Coffin said ¨THIS IS THE PHARAOH´S TOMB. NONE MAY DISTURB HER SLUMBER¨

-¨Ngh, we can´t retreat now¨ Makoto said ¨We´ll just have to do this!¨

After the battle was over, the gang analyze their situation

-¨Dammit, the hell´s up with her!?¨ Ryuji asked annoyed

-¨Can you just try to calm down? Nothing good will come of letting your temper flare up like that¨ Makoto said

-¨Moving on¨ Yusuke said ¨She did say ¨There´s not much left¨ though. The end of this Palace may be drawing close¨

-¨Then let´s move on¨ Ren said

After more exploration, they found another with a pedestal reflecting light

-¨The mural should display on the front wall now, right? ¨ Ann asked

-¨I´d expect so. Joker, if you please¨ Makoto

-¨Your wishes are my command, your highness¨ he said with a smirk, she only rolled her eyes

After pressing the tablet, another puzzle showed at the screen

-¨Wait, what?!¨ Ann asked confused ¨I can´t even begin to tell what this one is¨

-¨It may be a rather difficult puzzle for us to solve¨ Makoto added

-¨ _Professor Layton would be so proud of this_ ¨ Ren thought

After some minutes, the puzzle was solved, showing the image of Shadow Futaba grabbing a woman by her shirt, like she was begging for something

-¨Yes! We finished it! ¨ Ann exclaimed

-¨A child pulling on her mother´s clothes? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Mom¨ a girl´s voice said

-¨More voices¨ Ann said

-¨I´m… I´m tired of eating dinner alone all the time¨ the girl´s voice said ¨It´s always just convenience store bentos. I wanna go somewhere, take me on a trip! ¨

-¨The one clinging to her mother would be Futaba-chan, right? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Don´t be so selfish! ¨ the young woman´s voice said in an annoyed tone ¨You know I´m working hard to support you, right!? Ugh! ¨

The pedestal began to reflect light on the puzzle, which it opened and reflected on the door at the main staircase

-¨She seemed pretty angry¨ Makoto said with a sorrowful tone ¨Is that the maternity neurosis the voice from earlier mentioned? ¨

-¨I thought it was pretty normal for a child to want to spend time with their parents though¨ Ann said

-¨Yeah. Looks like Futaba was a pretty lonely kid growin´up¨ Ryuji said

-¨So these incidents compounded, forcing her mother to suicide? ¨ Yusuke asked, depressed for the situation

Shadow Futaba appeared

-¨I must die¨ she said

-¨Huh? ¨ Ann asked confused

-¨I killed her… that´s why I´m here in this tomb

-¨Don´t say that! ¨ Ann said angry

-¨I will die¨ and she disappeared

-¨Futaba-chan! ¨ Ann yelled

-¨Why´d she get so quiet all of a sudden? What happened to that snarky personality? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Could her heart perhaps be growing weaker? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨We have to hurry and save her! ¨ Ann said

* * *

They went to the gate that blocked the staircase, which opened

-¨It´s open¨ Ann said ¨But what´s this!?¨

There was some sort of door covered with yellow tapes that said ¨caution¨ and a sign that said ¨Private, do not enter¨

-¨Hey, this ain´t openin…¨ Ryuji said ¨Think there´s a way to open it somewhere else¨

Makoto put her hand on her chin ¨Hm? This door¨

-¨It looks familiar¨ Morgana said

-¨Oh! Futaba´s Room! ¨ Makoto pointed out

-¨That´s it! ¨ the cat added

-¨Why ain´t it openin? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨It must be her cognition that no one can enter it¨ Morgana said

Shadow Futaba appeared once more

-¨I´m surprised that you made it this far. Beyond lies the Pharaoh´s Chamber¨

-¨So the Treasure´s through here? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Indeed. However, you need my permission to open this door¨

-¨Then open it for us¨

-¨I cannot. You must have her invite you in¨

-¨What the eff. Ain´t this your Palace? ¨

-¨What´s she mean, Mona? ¨ Ann asked

-¨The Shadow is Futaba, but not Futaba herself¨ the cat informed ¨In other words, we need the real Futaba´s permission¨

-¨So we need to have Futaba-chan open her room and let us in? ¨

Shadow Futaba began to disappear ¨Considering that you made it all the way here; you may be able to do it¨

-¨Looks like we´ll have to return to reality once¨ Ann said

-¨But I remember Boss saying that she won´t let anyone in¨ Makoto said

-¨Right. She´s a serious shut-in¨ Ryuji said

-¨How will we convince her to allow us entry? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Standing around here won´t help¨ Makoto said ¨We´ll just have to give it a try. That´s what she wants, after all¨

-¨I think we should do it too, even if it means we have to force ourselves in¨ Ann said

-¨Someone sure is stoked about this¨ Ryuji said

-¨We have no choice but to sneak in again¨ Yusuke said

-¨Joker, it´s your call when we do this¨ Ann said ¨Make sure you think of some excuses just in case Boss catches us¨

-¨Leave it to me¨ Ren said

-¨We´re countin on you, leader¨ Ryuji said, filled with confidence on his friend

-¨On that note, is everyone clear on what needs doing? ¨ Morgana asked

-¨Oh, that reminds me¨ Ryuji said ¨Gimme the calling card. The one that Alibaba sent us¨

-¨What are you going to do with it? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨We´re the Phantom Thieves, you know? We gotta announce this. If the Treasure´s there when we get the room open, givin this to her will let us take it right away¨ he looked at Makoto ¨Queen, help me think of what to write¨

-¨I suppose¨ she said

-¨We got this covered! ¨ the blondie exclaimed with confidence ¨You decided on a good time we barge into her room! That´s all you!¨

And they left the Palace in order to prepare for what is next to come

* * *

 **8/2 Monday**

They meet at Ren´s room, in order to discuss the calling card

-¨Oh, so you´re set on doing this? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Looks like it´s my turn to unlock the entrance¨ Morgana said ¨Forgive me chief¨

-¨How will we convince Futaba to let us enter into her room though?¨ Yusuke asked ¨Even Boss is forbidden entry¨

-¨We´ll be honest¨ Ren said

-¨Yes, that is the best course of action¨ Makoto agreed

-¨You know a method? ¨ the artist asked

-¨I think it´s quite straightforward. Futaba doesn´t know what we´re doing inside her Palace, correct? Hence, if we tell her we´ve come to steal her heart, she´ll surely open the door and let us inside¨

-¨Wait… That´s it?¨ Ann asked

-¨Futaba wants to have a change of heart. After all, she contacted us for that express purpose. That desire should lead her to open the door as well¨

-¨You´re right¨ the blond girl agreed ¨Our feelings should get through if we just try and talk to her¨

-¨All right, I believe in Futaba! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed with confidence ¨C´mon, let´s get this done¨

* * *

Meanwhile, at Sojiro´s house, Futaba was at her room checking her phone

-¨An eyeball…? What´s this? When did it get on here? ¨

She touched the app a bit and the environment began to distort, after that, Shadow Futaba appeared in front of her, surrounded on red flames

-¨Wh-Whoaaa…¨ Futaba gasped in surprise ¨Wh-Who´re you…? ¨

-¨I am the other you¨ Shadow Futaba said

-¨Is this some kinda hallucination? ¨ Futaba asked ¨It´s different from usual¨

-¨How long will you continue blaming yourself and shutting yourself away from the world? ¨ the shadow asked

-¨Blaming myself for what…? ¨

-¨For your mother´s death¨

Futaba looked away

-¨Don´t you think it´s time you grasped the truth of that moment? What happened before your eyes, what happened to your mother¨ The shadow said

-¨The truth¨ Futaba repeated

-¨Why did you choose to rely on the Phantom Thieves? ¨

-¨That´s…¨

-¨Are you simply going to shut yourself in and do nothing? Are you going to aver your eyes from the true answer? ¨

Futaba remained quiet

-¨If so… I will kill them in your world¨

Shadow Futaba disappeared

-¨I-I… What should I do…? ¨ Futaba asked herself

* * *

Back with the gang, they were standing in front of Futaba´s room door

-¨We´re sorry for sneaking in so many times, Boss¨ Makoto said with regret on what they are doing

-¨There´s no mistaking it¨ Morgana said ¨This is the same door as in the Palace¨

Makoto knocked the door ¨Hello, Futaba? You´re there, aren´t you? Please answer us¨

-¨I doubt she´d answer¨ Morgana said

-¨Alibaba, we know you´re there. It doesn´t matter if it´s through chat messaging, just answer us¨ Makoto pleaded

Ren phone ringed, it was Futaba/Alibaba

 **Alibaba: You should´ve told me you were going to come here**

-¨In order to steal your heart, we need you to open this door¨ Makoto informed ¨We can´t change your heart otherwise. Please let us in¨

 **Alibaba: I´m not mentally prepared!**

 **Ren: You have to do this**

 **Alibaba: That´s easy for you to say**

-¨The other you within your heart told us to have you open it¨ Makoto said ¨Deep down, you want to open this door, don´t you? ¨

 **Alibaba: The other me?**

-¨Right¨ Makoto said ¨We´re trying to uphold our promise, but you´re the one resisting us¨

 **Alibaba: Give me some time**

-¨Ten seconds¨ Makoto said

 **Alibaba: That´s too short! At least minutes. Please!**

-¨Fine. But if Boss come home, we´ll kick down the door and enter if we must¨ Makoto said

-¨And we are not paying for the damage if that happens¨ Ren added

 **Alibaba: Fine**

-¨Time´s up, Alibaba¨ Makoto said

 **Alibaba: All right, I´ll open it now**

-¨We need to change her cognition¨ Makoto said ¨Better to be completely safe than sorry¨

-¨So she has to be the one to invite us in¨ Yusuke said

-¨Futaba, please open the door¨

The door opened

-¨All right, let´s go in¨ Ryuji said

* * *

They entered Futaba´s room, which it was a whole mess, there were books, papers, manga and some CD´s scattered on the floor, plastic bags filled with soda cans and who knows what else

-¨What is this? ¨ Yusuke asked astonished at the state of the room

-¨Medical science, information technology, biology, psychology… These are all technical books…¨ Makoto said

-¨She keeps herself cooped up in a room like this all the time? ¨ Ann asked with disbelief

-¨Where´s Futaba? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Where could she be hiding? ¨ Ryuji asked

They heard a noise coming from the closet

-¨The closet!?¨ Makoto asked in surprised

Yusuke shook his head ¨She´ll shut herself in to the bitter end, hm? ¨

-¨Even if that door´s opened up, we´ll get stopped again inside¨ Morgana said ¨I bet a fence or something formed right in front of the Treasure now¨

-¨TH-This makes no sense! ¨ Futaba yelled ¨Explain yourselves! ¨

-¨Whoa, she talked¨ Ryuji said surprised

-¨We need to change your cognition. Unless we do so, we can´t steal your heart¨ Makoto said

-¨I highly doubt she would understand it even if we explained it to her…¨ Yusuke said

-¨So basically, my cognition is being a hindrance, keeping you away from the core of my cognitive world? ¨ Futaba asked

-¨Huh? She understood it? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Why do you know about that? Who are you? ¨ Makoto asked

She remained quiet

-¨Why´d you call yourself Alibaba and make things more complicated? ¨ Ryuji asked ¨If you wanted help, you could´ve just asked for it¨

-¨Was… rrassed¨ Futaba said

-¨Huh? M-My bad. I didn´t catch that¨

-¨Cause I was embarrassed¨

-¨I think I get it¨ Ann said ¨Asking someone for help isn´t that easy¨

-¨Futaba, can you tell us more? How do you know about the cognitive world? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Cause I knew about it¨

-¨Oh… that reminds me. Boss was talking about ¨cognition¨ or something before, right? ¨ Ann said

-¨You think this is related to how he was gettin grilled by that one lady? ¨ Ryuji suggested

-¨Perhaps her mother was researching this cognitive science that was mentioned? ¨ Makoto suggested

-¨Cognitive psience with a PSI in front! ¨ Futaba corrected ¨Less science, more supernatural. That´s important¨

-¨Well that certainly got her attention… it seems we are on the right track¨ Yusuke said

-¨So, cognitive… psience? ¨ Makoto asked ¨Futaba, what was your mother working on? ¨

She remained quiet

-¨Please tell us. What happened? ¨

More silence

-¨She´s not answering¨ Yusuke said

-¨Shouldn´t we do this later? ¨ Ryuji suggested ¨She seems to have gone through some shit in the past¨

-¨True… she did say things like ¨die¨ Makoto said

-¨Hold on¨ Ann said ¨Futaba-chan, did you really killed your mother? ¨

-¨Whoa, you moron…! ¨ Ryuji said, shocked at Ann lack of subtleness

-¨Wasn´t her death an accident? What actually happened? Maternity neurosis? Is that really true? ¨

-¨Ann¨ Yusuke said

-¨We saw what your heart is like, but we still can´t figure anything out. The mother that Boss told us about is completely different from your condition¨ she got closer to the closet´ door ¨We want to hear the truth from your mouth¨

-¨M-My mom… was¨ she said with hesitation ¨The… one who killed her… was… Nngh…¨

-¨It´s possible that she can´t remember because her heart has become distorted¨ Makoto deduced

There was silence

-¨I´m so sorry, Futaba-chan¨ Ann said, regretting her previous attitude ¨I, um… A lot happened, so… I´m sorry¨

And in the blink of an eye, Futaba came out of the closet, stretching her arms as if she was giving them something

-¨Th-There! Now steal it! ¨ she said, voice filled with both fear, rage and embarrassment while shaking

The others simply sweat nervously

-¨What´s gotten into you all of a sudden? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨C-C´mon, hurry it up! ¨ she demanded

-¨We did come to steal your heart, but it´s not really done right here at this moment¨ Makoto said ¨All you really had to do was open that closet door… I´m sorry we made you jump to conclusions. You don´t have to be like that¨

Futaba lowered her arms ¨I-I see…¨ she looked downed ashamed and entered the closet and closed the door

-¨She went back in! ¨ Ann said

-¨Wh-What´s the meaning of this!?¨ Futaba asked ¨Did you guys trick me? ¨

-¨No! Please listen! ¨ Makoto yelled ¨There´s a reason we had to do this! ¨

-¨She´s aware of the cognitive world, but it seems she doesn´t understand how a change of heart occurs¨ Morgana said

-¨Um, Futaba, how much do you know about the cognitive world? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨I know there´s another world based on cognition. But I don´t know how to get there. Can you guys go there? You said you ¨saw my heart¨ earlier¨

-¨We use a smartphone app¨ Makoto said

-¨An app? ¨

-¨Yes. By entering the required information, we can go to the cognitive world¨

-¨A name, a place, and a distortion, those three¨ Ryuji said ¨So in this case, ¨Futaba Sakura¨, ¨Sojiro Sakura´s house¨, and¨

-¨Futaba, you don´t happen to have this app, do you? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨This… I don´t¨

-¨Thank goodness…¨ Makoto sighed in relief ¨OK then¨

-¨Can you take me with you too? ¨

-¨No¨ Ren said

-¨I gotta agree. Just leave this to us¨ Ryuji said

-¨I´ll leave it to you then¨

-¨Good. And you better not forget about our promise, all right? ¨

Ann and Yusuke headed to the exit, Ryuji was about to do the same, until

-¨Oh yeah! Almost Forgot! The Treasure´s not gonna appear if we don´t have her read this! ¨

He slid the calling card through the closet

-¨Hm? A calling card? ¨

-¨It´s the one you prepared. Read it¨

-¨I can´t. It´s too dark¨

-¨You could just come out¨

-¨It´s embarrassing¨

-¨I´ll make sure she reads it, so you guys go on ahead¨ Morgana said

And so the others left while Morgana hid, Futaba came out and began to read the card

 **Futaba Sakura has committed a great sin of drowning in sloth. Thus, We will rob every last bit of those distorted desires.**

Morgana came out from under Futaba´s bed

-¨Good¨

-¨Eek! ¨ Futaba yelled and fell to the floor, the cat ran away ¨Kitty! You again!?¨ she yelled annoyed

* * *

The thieves finally arrived to where the Treasure was located, it was a room illuminated by green neon light and in the middle of it there was a coffin

-¨The hell? This ain´t what I was imagining! ¨ Ryuji yelled disappointed

-¨Were you expecting a mountain of treasure or something that sort? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨There IS that over there¨ Ann said while pointing to the coffin

-¨That´s it? ¨ Ryuji dropped his head more disappointed

-¨The Treasure must be inside¨ Makoto said

-¨All right, let´s take it! ¨ the blondie said and began to walk towards the coffin

-¨Be careful¨ Yusuke said

Meanwhile, Morgana began to jump in excitement ¨T-Treasure…! ¨ and ran towards the coffin as well, but then, the room shook

-¨There´s something here¨ Yusuke said

-¨I got a bad feeling about this¨ Ryuji said

The roof of the room broke, and now there was a hole where light came in

A giant woman´s face appeared ¨Fuuuutaaaaaaabaaaaa!

-¨Is it a Shadow? ¨ Makoto asked in shocked at the monstrosity ¨No… then! ¨

-¨It´s not Futaba! ¨ Yusuke said

-¨Don´t tell me! ¨ the cat said and then

The creature used its giant paws and began to destroy the walls completely, now the room was completely illuminated and now in the air there was a giant winged sphynx creature with the face of Futaba´s mother

-¨This is insane! ¨ Ann yelled

The creature let out a powerful screech and flipped its wings with such a force that the wind generated started to make the things to fall back slowly

-¨If it´s not a Shadow, then what is it!?¨ Ryuji asked while grabbing the floor in order to prevent him of being sent away

-¨It´s a… cognition! ¨ Morgana yelled ¨A monster that Futaba´s cognition created! ¨

-¨ _Couldn´t have been a puppy or something a bit smaller_ ¨ Ren thought annoyed while covering his face from the wind

-¨How can that be!?¨ Makoto yelled covering her face as well

A pillar crumble and was about to fell on Makoto

-¨Hey, look out! ¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨Queen!¨ Ren yelled worry; he jumped towards her and put her out of the way before the pillar fell on her, landing on top of her

-¨Are you all right?! That was dange…¨ the Trickster tried to said but

-¨Yes, thank¨ Makoto tried to say but

They both stop what they were going to say because they realized that their lips were only mere inches from touching

The two thieves ignored what was happening right now, their face turned slightly red, their hearts beating too fast but yet they couldn´t look away from the other

-¨Here it comes! ¨ Ryuji yelled, this brought both Ren and Makoto back to reality, he helped her to get back on her feet, it was time to face the cognition

-¨Do not approach the pharaoh´s tomb! ¨ the monster yelled ¨Misfortune will fall upon you! ¨

-¨Ugh, look at it fly about! ¨ the cat yelled annoyed ¨We can´t reach it like this! We´ve got no other option. Let´s take it down with our guns and skills! ¨

-¨Sandman! ¨ Ren summoned a Persona, a red body creature with a moon-shaped face and holding a sack and used Sukunda, creating black-reddish orbs that wrapped the monster and reduce its strength

-¨Persona! ¨ Morgana summoned Zorro, the masked vigilante using a wind attack against the winged creature

-¨This is my other self! ¨ Yusuke summoned Goemon, who throw ice blocks to it

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto ride her bike and used a nuclear attack against the cognition

The cognition charged towards Yusuke and slammed him with its paw, causing some damage, it then slammed Ren as well

-¨Jikokuten! ¨ the leader of the Phantom Thieves called another Persona, this time it was a samurai with a greenish armor and a moustache, which used a spell to boost the team´s attack

-¨Zorro! ¨ Morgana called its Persona once more and again released another wind attack

-¨Persona! ¨ Yusuke used another ice attack

-¨Johanna! ¨ Makoto called her Persona and used another nuclear attack

The creature slammed Makoto and then it flapped its wings, causing a little tornado that damaged them

-¨Let´s go! ¨ Ren used Rakunda, creating black-blue orbs that wrapped the creature, reducing its defense

-¨Persona! ¨ Morgana called its Persona and proceed to heal its teammates

-¨I am thou! ¨ Yusuke called Goemon once more and used another ice attack

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto used another nuclear attack

The winged creature started to ascend towards the sky, the thieves losing sight of it

-¨H-How far did it fly up!?¨ Morgana asked ¨What´s it gonna do!?¨ the cat realized then ¨Don´t tell me… Is it gonna dive attack us!?¨

-¨In that case¨ Ren called Lachesis, a creature with a red female body and a blackish cape, which he used to heal his teammates so that they can stand what will come

The others took their guarding stances, but nothing happened

-¨Damn that thing¨ Morgana cursed ¨When´s it gonna strike!?¨

-¨Persona! ¨ Ren used Lachesis again, but this time he used a blue glow in order to increase his friend's defense

But the creature did not attack again

-¨Nngh… It´s still not attacking? ¨ Morgana asked annoyed

Finally the creature dive them, and even though they guard themselves, they still took quite the damage

-¨Persona! ¨ Ren called Lachesis once more ¨There¨ he healed his teammates

-¨Ngh… This isn´t good, I can´t tell at all when it´s gonna attack¨ Morgana said, worry at the situation

-¨Y-You can´t tell…!?¨ Yusuke asked shocked ¨Mona, you have got to tell us! ¨

-¨I-I can´t help it! There are some things that even I can´t do! ¨

-¨It´s all right, is not your fault, we´ll figure something out¨ Ren said in order to calm down the cat, although he himself was not sure what to do ¨We have to keep fighting and whenever that thing flies up, we cover ourselves¨

* * *

Meanwhile, away from the battle, Futaba had use the app in order to enter her own Palace

-¨So this is inside my heart¨ she said in amazement of the place layout ¨I didn´t think it´d be like this…¨

A giant mural appeared in front of her, showing Shadow Futaba talking to owl like man with back tuxedos

-¨Huh! ¨ she yelled confused

Shadow Futaba show itself ¨Do you remember? ¨

-¨This is the suicide note, the men in black suits red it right after Mom died…¨ Futaba said with sorrow

-¨That´s correct. Look at the next one¨

The following mural appeared, this time it was showing Futaba´s mother jumping in front of a car

-¨This…¨ Futaba hug herself ¨This is… when Mom jumped in front of that car¨

-¨That´s right. Now to the next¨

The last mural appeared, this one was of Shadow Futaba clinging to her mother

Futaba knee down ¨No¨

-¨Don´t Run. I thought you made your mind up after you talked to The Phantom Thieves¨

After a few moments of silence, Futaba spoke ¨Ok… I´ll look¨ she got up ¨It´s me complaining. Mom scolded me for bothering her¨

-¨Yes¨

-¨I knew it. It was me who killed Mom. I was a bad daughter… I weighed her down, and she hated me for it. It´s just like I remember¨ she began to cry

-¨Are you sure? ¨

-¨Huh? ¨

-¨Remember everything. Don´t avert your eyes. When did this happen? ¨

-¨Just a little before Mom died… I whined about wanting to go on a family trip… But she scolded me and said no¨

-¨Was that all she said? ¨

-¨Mom said… I´m too busy right now. I need to finish my cognitive research as soon as possible¨

-¨And what did you do? ¨

-¨I threw a tantrum. Told her she thought her research was more important than I was, that´s when she scolded me…¨

-¨What did she say afterwards? There was more¨

Futaba remained quiet, until ¨Did she say…?... My research is almost over. Once it´s finished, we can go wherever you like. I´m sorry I´ve left you alone for so long, Futaba. Please try to understand though. This research is really important. I need to complete it, even if it costs me my life¨

-¨Did she hate you? ¨

-¨She didn´t…? ¨

She look towards the mural, it began to shine and it showed

-¨Wh-What? She smiled…¨ she began to feel pain on her head ¨Agh! My head… It hurts… Which is true? ¨

Shadow Futaba began to disappear ¨Your memory is…¨ and she was gone

The pyramid began to shake and Futaba heard a screech

-¨Huh…? It´s calling me…? ¨ she began to run towards the source of the sound

* * *

Back with the Thieves, all of them were drained out, despise their best efforts, they were not making any progress against the cognition

-¨The hell!?¨ Ryuji yelled while panting ¨We ain´t doin shit to it! ¨

Futaba appeared on the battlefield

-¨Huh? Futaba!? ¨ Makoto yelled surprised ¨You came into your cognitive world!?¨

-¨Mm-hm¨ the hacker replied

-¨The person themselves coming into their own Palace? ¨ Morgana asked ¨If that happens…¨

The creature let out a screech

-¨That´s…¨ Futaba said

Suddenly, the environment around Futaba changed, now the figures of persons were showing

-¨You killed her! ¨ a man yelled while pointing to her

-¨No…¨ Futaba hug herself

-¨Why don´t you say something!? ¨ Another voice asked

Futaba began to crumble

-¨It´s your fault! ¨ a female voice yelled

-¨It´s my fault…¨ Futaba said ¨It´s my fault that my mom…¨

Makoto ran towards her and knee down

-¨That´s right! ¨ the monster said ¨You killed me! ¨

-¨Wait, is that monster her mother!? ¨ Yusuke asked in amazement

-¨Futaba´s desires and guilt must´ve distorted her cognition of her¨ Morgana said ¨The wish that her mother was alive again is mixed in as well, along with those eerie jeers…¨

-¨You are nothing but a demon who stood in my way! ¨ the creature yelled ¨I wish you had never been born! That way I could´ve announced my results without having to waste my time on you! I poured my heart and soul into that research! It would´ve been the discovery of the century! ¨

-¨What does she mean by that? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Could she be talking about cognitive psience? ¨ Morgana asked

-¨You´re going to die! ¨ the monster yelled ¨There´s no meaning to your life! No one needs you! ¨

-¨Nobody cares about me…¨ Futaba said

-¨I would never have had Futaba… She was always such a bother…¨ the voices kept blaming Futaba

-¨Ngh…! ¨ Futaba was in pain

-¨Hey, we´re gonna be in deep shit if this keeps up! ¨ Ryuji yelled

Makoto began to stroke Futaba´s hair in order to calm her down ¨So because she thinks she killed her mother… and because she thinks she deserves to die… Futaba gave a birth to a Palace where her mother wants her dead…? ¨

-¨Futaba-chan, look! ¨ Ann yelled ¨There´s no way that monster is your mother! It´s just an illusion you created! ¨

-¨B-But¨

-¨She never abuse you, did she…? ¨ Makoto asked ¨Boss told us! He said she did her best to raise you alone! ¨

-¨Isn´t this a false memory that´s been imprinted upon you? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨A false memory…?... Aagh…¨

The voices accusing her kept raising

-¨M-Mom… I-I…¨

Shadow Futaba appeared

-¨Futaba Sakura! Remember! ¨ the shadow yelled ¨Why did you think it was suicide? ¨

-¨Because of the note¨ she replied

-¨Exactly, what was written on it? ¨

-¨All of her complaints… about me¨

-¨Yes. The shock and pain led you to avert your eyes, but they kept reading it aloud in front of your relatives… Think hard. Was that suicide note real…? Would the mother you loved so much truly have written that? Did she ver say such horrible things to you? ¨

Futaba began to lift her head and stood up ¨No! She scolded me whenever I had tantrums, but she cared for me! ¨

-¨Then what about the suicide note? ¨

-¨A total lie! ¨

-¨You were used! They forged her suicide note and laid blame of her death upon you! They trampled all over your young heart! Get mad! Don´t forgive those rotten adults! ¨

Now she was sure about what to do

Back with the other, Futaba stood up ¨Ah…¨

-¨Futaba-chan!?¨ Ann asked

Futaba grabbed her head in pain once more

 **¨What denies you is an illusion¨** a voice in Futaba´s mind said **¨A curse put upon you by the heartless… You knew from the very beginning… And yet, you cowered in fear…**

-¨That´s right. I knew, but I…¨

-¨It´s all your fault…! ¨ Cognitive Wakaba yelled ¨This time, you´ll be the one to die! ¨

 **¨Will you die as you are told…? Who will you obey…? Cursed words spat out by a seething illusion? Or the truth within your own soul? ¨**

-¨It´s your fault! ¨ the monster kept yelling

-¨I won't let those distorted lies deceive me anymore… And I won´t be led astray by other´s voices either... I´m going to trust my own eyes and my own heart to distinguish the truth from the lies¨ she glared at the monster ¨There´s no way you´re my mom! You´re just a fake created by those horrid adults! I´ll… I´ll never… I´ll never forgive them! ¨

After a glow, a UFO with a metallic gargoyle statue crouching on its top, its exterior decorated with lime green glyphs of various origins was floating above Futaba

-¨What is that!?¨ Ann asked

Tentacles began to came out of the UFO, wrapping Futaba

-¨Huh? Whoa! ¨ the tentacles began to carry Futaba towards the UFO

 **¨Contract… I am thou, thou art I… The forbidden wisdom has been revealed…¨**

Futaba was now inside the UFO, wearing her Trickster uniform of a skintight black bodysuit with fluorescent neon green glowing strips and matching black boots with neon green soles. Her mask is a pair of big black goggles with orange lenses.

 **¨No mysteries… No illusions shall deceive you any longer¨**

-¨Futaba!?¨ Makoto yelled worry

-¨I´m OK! ¨ the hacker answered ¨Please help me! That´s gotta go! ¨

The thieves nod in agreement, now with their spirits up, it was time to take down the monster

-¨This is my heart´s world, right? ¨ Futaba asked ¨Hacking into my distortion should be no problem for me! ¨

Futaba used her Persona and created

-¨A-A ballista!?¨ Morgana asked in surprised

-¨Shoot it down with this, then beat the crap out of it! ¨

-¨I´ll shoot it! ¨ Yusuke offered himself

-¨Run towards the ballista! ¨ Futaba ordered and the artist did so

-¨Joker, we need to distract the cognition in order to give Fox time! ¨ Makoto yelled

-¨And we will, Jikokuten! ¨ Ren called his Persona and used Rakunda in order to decreased the monster´s defense

-¨Persona! ¨ Morgana called Zorro and attack with a wind attack

-¨Persona! ¨ Makoto ride her back and used a nuclear attack

The winged creature tried to slam the cat, but he managed to dodge it

-¨Change direction! Aim the tip at her! ¨ Futaba telled

-¨Understood! ¨ Yusuke did what he was told

-¨Take cover! ¨ Ren yelled, they all took their guarding stances

The creature used its wing to create a little tornado, damaging the others

-¨Adjust vertical alignment! ¨ Futaba yelled ¨All right, Fire! ¨

Yusuke shoot the arrow to the creature, which let out a pain screamed and landed near the thieves, who pointed their guns towards it

-¨Nnngh…! How dare you…! Children that defy their mothers should… DIE! ¨ the creature said while panting

-¨Shut up! You are not my mom! ¨ Futaba yelled

-¨Nnngh…! Futaba… Futaba…! If only I had never birthed you…! ¨

-¨No matter what you say to me… I will live! Fire! ¨

And the thieves fire with their respective guns, the creature let out one final screech and fell down the pyramid, finally defeated

After that, Futaba came out of her Persona

-¨Futaba! ¨ Makoto yelled both surprised and worried

-¨Damn, you´re freaking incredible! ¨ Ryuji yelled

Futaba got up and look at her outfit ¨Whoa! What in the world!?¨

A glow appeared, reveling Wakaba standing in front of her

-¨Mom? ¨ Futaba asked shocked

-¨Futaba¨ Wakaba said ¨Thank you for choosing to remember the real me¨

-¨I´m sorry for being so selfish…. Mom…¨ she began to walk towards her

-¨Don´t come over here. This isn´t where you´re supposed to be, is it? ¨

-¨But I finally got to see you again…¨ she was hurt

-¨Are you being selfish again? ¨

Futaba remained quiet for a few seconds, until ¨Um, I… I love you, Mom¨ she said, tears forming on her face despite her mask covering it

Wakaba smiled ¨I love you too, Futaba. Now, you should get going¨

And now, she was gone

-¨…¨

Now she turned towards the others ¨Oh, right. Medjed¨ she said annoyed

-¨Where are you going? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Home. I know how to use the Nav now¨ she kept walking

-¨Huh? Oh… Right¨

-¨That girl marches to the beat of her own drum, doesn´t she? ¨ Yusuke asked

-¨But if we have her on our side… Wait, what about her Treasure? ¨

They checked the coffin, which was empty

The pyramid shook

-¨Eek! ¨ Makoto yelled

-¨Futaba herself was the Treasure! ¨ Morgana yelled ¨And she´s gone, so of course it´s empty! ¨

The pyramid shook even more

-¨Shoot… This is bad! Not only did the real person come into her own Palace, she awakened to a Persona while she was here! This place could collapse any second now! ¨

-¨We should hurry back to reality! ¨ Makoto yelled

They began to run down the pyramid as quickly as possible, since right behind them the pyramid kept going down

-¨It´s catching up to us! ¨ Yusuke yelled

-¨Runnin here´s a bitch! ¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨Mona! Turn into a car already! ¨ Ann yelled

-¨I know! I know! I¨

Ann grabbed the cat and threw it with all her might towards the sky, the cat yelling aloud

-¨Meow! ¨ the cat finally turned into a car

The wave of dust and pieces finally catched up yo them, but this sent them flew away towards the car, Morgana open the back of his car form to let the others inside and with all her might, Makoto step up on the pedal to go as fast as possible, dodging rest of the pyramid along the way, but fortunately, they managed to return to the real world

* * *

-¨Hey, you guys still alive? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I thought I was gonna die in¨ Ann said, but then she realized that Yusuke had his arms wrapped around Ann waist ¨HEY! Will you let it go already!?¨

-¨Eeeeeek! ¨ Makoto yelled since Ren had his hands around her waist

Both slapped the boys away

-¨Ah, sorry! ¨ both yelled in shame

-¨N-Not again…¨ Yusuke groaned

-¨Now I feel your pain Yusuke¨ Ren groaned

-¨Ren, I am really sorry¨ Makoto bowed

Sojiro came out of LeBlanc ¨What was that sound? What´re you guys doing out here? ¨

-¨Oh, ummmm…¨ Ann tried to came up with an excuse

-¨That reminds me, where´s Futaba? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨What about Futaba? ¨ Sojiro asked

-¨Ah, yes! We came all this way, so how about we enjoy some coffee? ¨ Makoto suggested changing the topic

-¨Oh! That´s a great idea! ¨ Ann yelled

-¨That´s fine, but…¨

-¨I´m not thirsty though¨ Yusuke said

Makoto quickly walk towards him and punched him in his stomach ¨Oh, I almost forgot! I have some business to take care of, so you guys go on ahead¨

-¨O-OK, gotcha¨ Ann replied nervously, the others went in the café, except for Makoto, Ren and Morgana

-¨Let´s go see Futaba¨

* * *

They went towards Sojiro house, Futaba sit in front of the gate

-¨Can you hear me? Please, say something! ¨ Makoto said

No answer, she frowned worry ¨Could this be our fault? Is it because we defeated her monstrous mother…? ¨

Ren put a hand on her shoulder ¨No, I am sure she is fine¨

-¨Hey, don't you know a doctor? ¨ Morgana asked Ren

Makoto lifted up her head ¨You do? Can you contact them?¨

* * *

They took Futaba to her room and called the doctor, also known as Tae Takemi

-¨A house call is going to cause you, you know¨ Tae said with a serious tone

-¨How much will it be…? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨That was a joke¨ she replied with a smirk

-¨A really funny one¨ Ren replied with his own smirk

-¨So, um… how is her condition? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Her pulse, breathing, temperature and blood pressure are all normal. No ocular abnormalities either. I´m not sure why, but it seems this girl is in some kind of light stupor. Furthermore, she lacks muscle for her age. I doubt she has much stamina either¨

-¨I see. The rebound from her awakening was too strong… We simply cannot keep quiet about this. We should let Boss know, shouldn´t we?¨

-¨Let´s go get him¨ Ren said

-¨By the way¨ Tae said ¨What happened to your face kid? ¨

Ren looked at himself in a nearby mirror and noticed that there was a red hand mark on his cheek ¨Long story¨

Tae notice that Makoto covered her face with her hands, totally embarrassed, she simply let out a chuckle

* * *

They called Sojiro to her room, along with the others

-¨Hey, Futaba? Heyyyy? ¨ Sojiro tried to wake her up

Nobody said anything, concerned for the situation

-¨Oh dear…¨ Sojiro let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head

-¨Um… About Futaba ¨ Makoto tried to say but

-¨Hm? Why you guys look so down? ¨

-¨Futaba-chan´s condition¨ Ann said

-¨What, this? It happens every so often¨

Their eyes went wide in surprise

-¨It´s like she run out of batteries. I think it happens ´cause she doesn´t get enough exercise¨

Ryuji dropped his head ¨What? ¨

-¨She stays like this for a few days whenever this happens. I´ll make sure she gets plenty of rest. Here, keep an eye on her. I´m gonna go close the store¨

And he left

-¨It´s hard to describe how I feel right now¨ Makoto said

-¨Yeah, I´m feelin pretty frustrated ¨ Ryuji said

-¨I´m glad she´s OK… but what are we gonna do about Medjed? ¨ Ann asked

Futaba opened her eyes ¨Ah¨

-¨She´s up! ¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨Medjed¨ she whispered ¨Tired. Gonna sleep for a bit¨ and she fell asleep again

-¨For a bit? How much is she planning on sleeping? ¨ Ann asked ¨We probably shouldn´t wake her up either¨

-¨It´s too late for us to find another hacker¨ Makoto said

-¨All we can do is wait for her to wake up¨ Morgana said

And so, they began to wait, hoping that Futaba will wake up on time

* * *

 **And that´s the end of that, and hoo boy i am beating but hey long chapter is cool right**

 **Now you may ask why, well i wanted to wrapped Futaba´s palace in this one because it felt that dividing it into two was going to be a pain in the ass, so that is cool right? But yeah, we have reached the awakening of Futaba (favourite P5 hacker, not wanting to insult Fuuka from P3)**

 **I apologize for taking so long, college is getiing thougher everyday with so many things so that is my priority and also sorry for the lack of romantic moments here, but since this is a retealling, I have to focus on the story and the characters corresponding to the arc, but be happy because Futaba will play an important role on joining our two heroes together, so look forward to that. Anyway, the next chapter will be about Futaba´s therapy as well as the trip to the beach and boy it´s gonna get hot in many ways**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any reviews or comments and I will gladly answer**

 **See you all later**

 **Peace**


	14. Therapy of Love, Beach of Love

**8/21 Sunday**

The day for Medjed´s attack finally arrived, what was going to happen?

Ren walked downstairs from his room and was now standing in Leblanc

-¨Isn´t today our deadline for dealing with Medjed? ¨ Morgana asked worry ¨Futaba´s still asleep too… This won´t be good¨

-¨Hey¨ Sojiro said from behind the counter

-¨How´s Futaba? ¨ Ren asked

Sojiro sighed a bit ¨Same as always¨ he put a cup of coffee on the counter ¨Today´s the day Wakaba passed. I do this every year… Here, I´ve got a cup for you too¨

Ren took seat

-¨Futaba reminds me so much of her mother¨ Leblanc´s owner kept talking ¨She´s a smart girl. Doesn´t just go with the flow, either¨ he frowned ¨Wakaba… Your work and your kid were so fulfilling for you… Why´d you have to die so suddenly…? ¨ he looked at Ren ¨That reminds me, you saw me talking to that prosecutor- I mean, that woman in a suit, right? I remember you were real bothered by it. She might come back, so I guess I should tell you about it, that woman was trying to get information on Wakaba´s research out of me¨

-¨That´s what we heard in the Palace¨ Morgana said from Ren´s bag, although for Sojiro was some meowing

-¨You don´t need to know what the research was about¨ Sojiro kept on ¨Just know there was some trouble around it. Obviously, Wakaba got dragged into that as well¨ he took a puff from his cigarette ¨Now, they ruled her death as suicide… but I´ve got my doubts¨

Ren looked at Sojiro confused

-¨Doubts? Could she have been killed? ¨ Morgana asked

-¨Supposedly, there were people who wanted to take her research and use it for their own benefit… Don´t get me wrong though, I don´t have a lick of evidence, that´s why I haven´t told Futaba any of this. I don´t want to cause her any more trouble¨

-¨It sounded like she had suspicions of her own based on what she said in the Palace¨ Morgana said

-¨Still, there is one thing I regret¨ Sojiro closed his eyes in regret ¨It was right before Wakaba died… She told me, ¨I think I might die¨ I brushed it off thinking it was just a joke, but if I had just taken her seriously…¨

-¨It´s not your fault, you couldn´t have known that¨ Ren said

-¨ I know, but… That´s another reason I took Futaba in… Redemption. She went through such horrible things. Those heartless adults just yelled at the poor girl… Hey, how do you heal emotional scars? ¨

-¨They´ll heal on their own, I know of that¨ Ren looked away, remembering two particular persons of his life, one was a girl, the other was…

-¨I agree. I´m waiting for it to happen, but…¨

The door of Leblanc open and certain person entered

-¨Futaba…!?¨ Sojiro yelled shocked

Futaba walked towards the counter and took her seat; she took a cup of coffee and drank it

-¨It´s cold¨ she said

-¨Huh? ¨ Sojiro was confused

She glared at him ¨You can´t sell this¨

-¨Ouch¨ Ren said

-¨Hey, if a coffee is bad, it is bad¨ she said to Ren

-¨N-Never mind that…¨ Sojiro said ¨How did you get here? ¨

-¨Uh… I walked¨

-¨You´re OK!?¨

-¨Was that bad? ¨

-¨Th-That´s not it! I´m just shocked to see you out of the house…¨

She looked at the counter ¨Uh… I´m sorry I worried you¨

-¨Ha…¨ Sojiro wiped a tear from his face ¨It´s all right¨

-¨By the way, what´s the date today? ¨

-¨Eh? It´s uh… It´s the 21st¨ Sojiro walked out of the store, probably to breathe some fresh air

-¨I feel like I´m forgetting something important…¨

-¨Y´know, the cleanse¨ Ren said

-¨Oh, I remember now. Medjed¨ she got off her seat ¨Let´s take care of it now. Come¨

But before that

-¨I have to make a call first¨ Ren said

-¨All right, but hurry up¨ she left the café

Ren dialed on his phone

Makoto´s phoned began to ring, she noticed it was Ren

-¨Oh, Ren, good morning¨

-¨Come to Sojiro´s house¨

-¨Huh? I don´t follow¨

-¨Futaba´s awake¨

Makoto´s eyes went wide ¨I am on my way¨

* * *

Makoto arrived to Sojiro´s house, and now, they were all at Futaba´s room

-¨It´s my turn to help out¨ Futaba said, ready to take down Medjed ¨Hmph, Medjed, Now, how do we cook them? ¨

-¨Eliminate them¨ Ren said with a little grin on his face

Futaba had a little devilish smile on her face ¨Violent much? ¨ she began to type on her keyboard

-¨She sure is hyped for this¨ Makoto said

-¨Hey, let´s let her have fun¨ Ren shrugged

-¨Hey, Futaba? We don´t have much time left¨ Morgana said ¨Are you sure you could do this?!¨

Futaba stopped typing, eyes wide ¨Th-The kitty talked!? Is this a dream? I´m going back to sleep¨

-¨ _A talking cat? That´s the part that surprises you?_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨He´s a talking cat¨ Makoto said quickly in order to prevent her from going back to sleep

-¨R-Right¨

-¨N-Now, would you please start? ¨

-¨Yes ma´am, let´s get cracking¨ she processed to type, this process went on for some minutes

-¨You´re just tapping away over there¨ Morgana said annoyed ¨Are you sure this will work? ¨

There was no answer

-¨Hey, Futaba! ¨ the cat yelled

No answer

-¨I don´t think she can hear you Morgana¨ Makoto said

-¨Talk about intense concentration¨ the cat looked at its surroundings ¨This place is so messy… I´m surprised she can focus at all¨

-¨You should really clean you room a bit, Futaba¨ Makoto said

No answer

-¨Oh well¨ the cat said ¨Just waiting around is boring. Let´s clean the place up¨

Both nod in agreement and went to find cleaning tools

Makoto used a duster to clean up the curtains while Ren took out the trash bags, later, she recollected all the paper clips and books lying on the floor and afterwards, Ren used a mop to clean the floor, then it was a matter of only made the bed

-¨Phew¨ Morgana sighed ¨It looks a little better now, don´t you think? ¨

-¨You didn´t help¨ Ren complained

-¨I am the brains of the cleaning operation, thank you¨

-¨Yeah, remind me who is the one that cleans up Leblanc? ¨

-¨ It wasn´t that bad though¨ Makoto said ¨I do all the cleaning back home¨

-¨I assume is because your sister is at work¨ Ren deduced

-¨Correct, but I don´t mind, if it makes things easier for her¨

Ren frowned a bit ¨That does not seem fair¨

-¨It´s fine, plus is a way to calm down after studying, although I suppose doing it with another person is better¨

-¨Well, let me know if I can help¨

She nod

Unbeknownst to them, despite focusing on the keyboard, Futaba did catch that conversation

-¨ _Huh…_ ¨ she thought

-¨Well, Futaba? We´re done on our end¨ Morgana said ¨Are you finished yet? ¨

Again, no answer

-¨She can´t hear a word I´m saying, Guess we´ll just have to keep waiting¨

The trio sat on her bed and began to talk about anything

After a while, Futaba stretched her arms and legs ¨I´m doooooone! ¨

Morgana, who fell asleep, woke up ¨Wh-What´s up? Something happened? ¨

-¨It´s finished¨ the hacker said

-¨Really? ¨ Makoto asked

Futaba looked at the new state of her room

-¨Ah, it´s so clean! Why? ¨

-¨We cleaned it¨ Morgana said

-¨No, WE did it¨ Ren whispered, Makoto patted him on the back

-¨Anyway, is it true? ¨ Morgana asked ¨Did you really take care of Medjed? ¨

-¨I handled them, and someone else handled my room…! I don´t understand, but this is good, thanks! ¨

-¨You are welcome¨ Makoto smiled proudly

Futaba grabbed a cat-shaped pillow and put it on the desk, placing her head on it

-¨Futaba…? ¨ Morgana asked

-¨What´s wrong?!¨ Makoto asked concerned

They heard Futaba snoring

-¨She´s sleeping¨ Ren said

-¨Unbelievable¨ Makoto said

-¨Well, it looks like it´s been taken care of¨ Morgana said ¨I guess we should get home and sleep too¨

Both went back to their own houses, Ren informed the others of the current situation through the chat

 **Ann: So, Futaba´s awake?**

 **Ryuji: Awesome. And has Medjed been taken care of? Er, more importantly, how´s Futaba´s doing?**

 **Ren: She´s back asleep**

 **Ryuji: Seriously?**

 **Yusuke: She must have been quite exhausted. I can't say I blame her at all**

 **Makoto: If Medjed´s been affected, it will surely make the news. That should be enough to confirm whether or not the deed´s been done**

 **Ryuji: Then why don´t we all watch the news together?**

 **Yusuke: Yes. We should meet up at Leblanc as usual**

 **Ann: See you tomorrow, guys!**

We should be in the clear now, right? ¨ Morgana asked worry

-¨I hope so, let´s sleep, I am beaten¨

But before he could do that, his phone ringed, it was Makoto

 **Makoto: Hey, sorry that I am bothering you, but I have a question to make, if you don´t mind**

 **Ren: What is it?**

There was no answer, just constant dots, signalizing that she was writing something

 **Makoto: Why did you tell me about Futaba first?**

Ren raised an eyebrow

 **Ren: Well, I noticed how much you were worry, so I figured I should tell you as soon as possible, was it wrong?**

 **Makoto: No, of course not. Thank you, I do feel more relieved**

 **Ren: No problem, I got to look after my girlfriend. ;^D**

 **Makoto: Very funny, good night**

 **Ren: Good night**

Ren put his phone away and went to bed, but despite his efforts, he couldn´t sleep

He remembered what happened at the Palace, when he saved Makoto from that pillar and how much close his and her lips were close and how part of him wanted to press his lips against hers, now he remembered joking about being her girlfriend, how beautiful she looked in her Yukata, all the times they hold hands

-¨ _We are only faking, right? She was the one who said it, so there is nothing going on, but…¨_

He grabbed his phone and checked the photo he had with Makoto during their double date with Eiko and her boyfriend, both seemed to be so happy

The last time he was this happy with a girl was

He started to remember something, him with flowers on his hand, a light blue haired girl with a disgusted expression on her face, and said girl said

 **-¨I was using you¨**

Ren came back to reality, he shook his head to dispelled those thoughts

-¨Makoto is not like that¨ he whispered

Finally, his eyes began to close, sleep taking him

* * *

 **8/22 Monday**

The following day, the gang reunited at Leblanc to watch the news regarding, Medjed

-¨Late last night, it was discovered that someone has tampered with the hacker group Medjed´s website¨ a tv reporter said ¨The site´s main page now displays what is thought to be the mark belonging to the Phantom Thieves. More so, the personal information of a Japanese man, a possible Medjed member, was illegally publicized¨

-¨Aren´t these guys people have been up in arms about? ¨ Sojiro asked

-¨Medjed has yet to issue an official reply¨ the reporter went on ¨Furthermore, their previously announced cleanse of Japan has remained unimplemented for now. Some speculate that they have taken this series of events seriously and ultimately cancelled their plan¨

The thieves exchanges giggles and smirks

-¨What´re you all smirking about? ¨ Sojiro asked

-¨Oh, something great happened¨ Ren said

-¨Well stop it. You´re gonna drive away all my customers¨

The reporter continued ¨After the commercial break; we will be asking guests from various fields about this turn of events¨

-¨But there aren´t any customers…? ¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Can it¨ Sojiro glared at him ¨My customers are on summer vacation too¨

Ryuji´s eyes went wide ¨Oh crap; I just realized our break´s almost over! ¨

-¨There are still ten days left¨ Yusuke said

-¨I wanna go somewhere, but we can´t just leave Futaba-chan alone¨ Ann said

-¨Some things still concern me too¨ Makoto said ¨Like that ¨research¨

And speaking of Futaba, she walked into the café

-¨Oh! Did you just get up? ¨ Sojiro asked

-¨Good morning¨ Makoto said

Futaba quickly hid behind Ren

-¨G-good Morning¨

Yusuke shook his head ¨It seems she´s cautious of us¨

-¨Hey, why don´t we go upstairs¨ Makoto suggested ¨If any customers come, she´ll be even more afraid¨

-¨Why don´t you go with them, Futaba? Have fun¨ Sojiro suggested

* * *

The gang went upstairs, Sojiro´s regulars showed up and were watching the news, were a bold man with a small beard and orange glasses spoke

-¨The fact that there was no damage due to the hackers´ actions is but an afterthought. The issue I want to make clear is the attitude of the police, and more importantly, the goverment¨

Sojiro listened with attention

-¨What do you mean? ¨ the reporter asked this man

-¨Are they doing their best to find an effective countermeasure against these Phantom Thieves? Is it not the government's duty to create a society where its citizen can live without worry? Unfortunately, the current cabinet is powerless. As such, they should be disbanded. I believe now is the time for me to risk my political career in hope of making a new reality. A new political system that goes beyond parties or factions… An ideal country of peace and order…¨

-¨This politician seems quite promising¨ one customer said

-¨I have to agree¨ another customer said ¨I hope he can work to ease the anxieties of the elderly¨

-¨What do you think Boss? ¨

Sojiro looked up ¨Hm? Oh sorry, I wasn't listening¨

* * *

Time moved fast, in a sudden change of place, Ren was covered with bruises, in an almost dark room, breathing heavily

-¨So the Phantom Thieves only stole the heart of Futaba Sakura? ¨ the woman interrogating Ren, Sae, asked ¨And Medjed was in turn defeated by her real-world hacking abilities? This does correlate to the facts as we know them… If he´s telling the truth, then Wakaba Isshiki didn´t commit suicide… Did a third party target her life with the goal of destroying her research…? Wakaba´s death was two years ago… That also coincides with when the incidents started occurring… Does this other Metaverse user that Madarame and Kaneshiro mentioned… really exist…?¨ she looked at Ren ¨Earlier, I briefly mentioned about those psychotic breakdown incidents that have alarmed the public. All of the sudden, people will lose consciousness or become violent… A situation as incomprehensible as that can´t be explained away as ¨troubled social conditions… I suspect that these cases are all connected to a larger, man-made plot. The method involved always muddled the explication, but your story has virtually confirmed its viability. Although, I wouldn´t expected a new criminal to come to light from your testimony. What did your group think of this other Metaverse user? ¨

-¨The true criminal¨ Ren said

-¨How self-centered of you. The Phantom Thieves tamper with people´s hearts without asking consent. How is that different? Well, no matter how you thought of them, there can be no doubting your resolve. Are those incidents because of you or someone else? Either way, I will get to the bottom of this¨

She opened a book ¨Now, let´s move on to your next crime¨ she showed Ren the picture of a man ¨Kunizaku Okumura, you should know who he is… Considering what happened. Your testimony will regarding this incident will be serious. I´m sure you understand why¨ she glared at him ¨Answer my next question carefully. What did you do to this Okumura?¨

* * *

Back with the gang, they were at Ren´s room

-¨To think the cognitive version of a person would transform into such a horrible monster and attack us¨ Yusuke said ¨That means our enemies aren´t limited to Shadows¨

-¨I thought the other people were just victims, like the slaves at the castle or the walking ATMs¨ Ann said

-¨Even though they seem to be alive, they´re only part of the backdrop… the environment¨ Makoto said ¨In other words, the Palace ruler determines the form and strength of their cognitions. I would have loved to ask Futaba´s mother how far along she was with her research…¨

-¨Research, huh? ¨ Ryuji said ¨She was lookin into that cognitive psience stuff, yeah? ¨

-¨If we put together all the information we´ve gathered up to this point, abuse of cognitive psience can lead to death, and it may even relate to the psychotic breakdowns incidents. Considering the ¨cognitive¨ aspect, I sense a strong connection between it and the Metaverse¨

-¨On top of that, the research might have been stolen and used by someone else¨ Morgana pointed out

-¨You mean those guys that showed Futaba-chan the fake suicide note¨ Ann said

-¨If that is the case, those people are unforgivable¨ Yusuke added, raged as well

Makoto looked at Futaba ¨Hey, Futaba. Is there anything else you can remember? ¨

Futaba got up from Ren´s bed, with a bowl of noodles on her hand, and went downstairs

Makoto sighed ¨She is quite difficult¨

Futaba came back, this time with a beef bowl

-¨That smell¨ Yusuke said, catching the scent

Ann pouted ¨C´mon, no fair…¨

-¨Hey, can I snag a bite? ¨ Ryuji asked

Futaba glared at him

-¨Meanie¨ the blondie shook his head

She looked at Makoto ¨Want some? ¨

Everybody were surprised to hear Futaba actually interacting with them

-¨U-Um, no… I am fine¨ the honor student replied

Now Futaba looked at Ren ¨Glasses guy? ¨

-¨I am fine, thanks¨

The hacker went back to eating

-¨Why don´t we take a short break? ¨ Makoto suggested

Ren display the table, where the bowls were laying

-¨I´ve been thinking¨ Makoto said ¨Even if Futaba is a genius, could she really crush an international hacker organization that easily? ¨

-¨The one who taunted the Phantom Thieves was a guy in Japan¨ Futaba pointed out ¨I knew the Medjed members in Japan weren´t anything special, so I wasn´t worried¨

-¨How do you know that? ¨ Ann asked

-¨Cause I´m the founder¨

Everybody´s eyes went wide

-¨Um… what do you mean? ¨ Makoto asked shocked ¨Should we take that literally? ¨

-¨Yep. It was only me at first, back when I was referred to as the hacker of justice¨

-¨ _Quite the name_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨But since I stayed anonymous, a buncha guys from all over the world started using the name¨

-¨And those were the ones committing cybercrimes¨ Ann deduced

-¨It was a hassle to expose all of them, so I just left them be¨ Futaba admitted with regret ¨

-¨Uhhh… So Futaba was the true Medjed, and we were freakin out over some weak-ass dipshits? ¨ Ryuji asked ¨You should´ve told us from the start, Futaba¨

-¨I discharged the Medjed name a while ago. I´m Alibaba now¨ she admitted proudly

-¨Somebody is enthusiastic¨ Ren whispered

-¨Futaba, what do you want to do now? ¨ Makoto asked ¨Since you know our secret, we´d like you to join our team¨

-¨´Kay¨ the hacker said

-¨Just like that? ¨ Ann asked surprised

-¨This may even ensure our investigation of Mementos goes along smoothly¨ Makoto added

-¨Well… I guess¨ Morgana admitted, although clearly he was sad

Ren noticed this; he will talk with Morgana later

-¨Well, Futaba´s real amazin! ¨ Ryuji exclaimed ¨She´s gonna be a big help for us, huh? ¨

-¨Say Futaba¨ Makoto said ¨How did you find about us? ¨

-¨Secret¨ the hacker replied

-¨Where did you learn to hack? ¨

-¨Private¨

-¨When did you obtain the Nav? ¨

-¨I refuse to answer¨

Ann sighed ¨Futaba-chan sure is unique. Still, it´ll be a problem if she doesn´t open up to us some more¨

-¨At the very least, we need to be able to communicate normally with her¨ Yusuke added

-¨What should we do? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Let´s get to know her¨ Ren suggested

-¨How? ¨ Ann asked

-¨First, we´ll need to help her open to us¨ Makoto said ¨If we each spend an entire a day with her, maybe she´ll get more used to being around us¨

This caught Futaba´s attention

-¨I see. We do have the time, thanks to summer vacation¨ Yusuke said

-¨We can go tomorrow¨

-¨Let´s go to the beach! ¨ Ryuji suggested with excitement ¨There´ll be tonsa people there, plus we got totally dried out in that desert¨

-¨That´s a great idea! ¨ Ann agreed ¨I forgot I hadn´t gone to the beach yet! ¨

-¨Uh, excuse me? ¨ Futaba said, totally nervous

-¨I´ll come by tomorrow. See you then¨ Makoto said

-¨Let me help as well¨ Yusuke offered ¨I don´t have anything planned¨

-¨Thanks. We can set a schedule with everyone else depending on when they´re free¨

-¨Ok! ¨ Ann agreed

The others left, with the exception of Ren, Morgana, Makoto (who stayed to help Ren cleaned up), and of course, Futaba

-¨Can I really do this? ¨ Futaba asked

-¨Good luck¨ Ren tried to cheer her up

-¨We have faith in you¨ Makoto said

Futaba proceed to pinch Morgana´s cheeks and played with his whiskers

-¨Why me?!¨ the cat meowed

-¨Oh, that´s right, totally forgot¨ she let go of Morgana and looked at both Ren and Makoto ¨Th-Thanks¨

The duo exchanged confused looks

-¨Y-You two cleaned my room, so, thank you, I was too depressed that I couldn´t do it¨

Both Ren and Makoto did not know how to process that

-¨You are welcome? ¨ Makoto said

-¨Hey, don´t sound like that, I am not ungrateful! ¨ the hacker clarified ¨Anyways, see you tomorrow¨ and now, she was gone

-¨This is going to be difficult¨ Makoto sighed

-¨Meh, what´s the worst that could happen? ¨ Ren asked

* * *

Meanwhile, while many people were relieved that Medjed have been taken care of, certain prosecutor was not

-¨Stress is the enemy of beauty, you know¨ her companion, the ace detective Goro Akechi mocked

-¨How can I stay calm about this!? ¨ Sae asked raged

-¨I understand how you feel¨

-¨Thanks to the incident with those hackers, people are calling us incompetent. And on top of all that, the Phantom Thieves are claiming justice is on their side. Don´t make me laugh¨

Akechi put his hand on his chin ¨Medjed was dealt with by either the Phantom Thieves themselves, or some avid supporter. There are no tracks whatsoever, so they must be quite skilled. Either way, the public recognizes the Phantom Thieves as the subjugating party¨

-¨They are gaining support and influence much faster than we could have anticipated¨

Akechi frowned ¨It is indeed an abnormal situation. I´m beginning to suspect mass manipulation of some kind… It´s even possible that a powerful person is behind them, plotting the psychotic breakdowns… If only I had realized sooner! ¨

-¨It´s rare to hear you speak in that tone¨

-¨For the sake of my justice… I won´t forgive them¨ this was personal for him

As for Sae herself, she wasn´t going to lose to them, she will win

* * *

At night, Ren´s phone sounded, it was the group´s chat

 **Ryuji: Hey, I heard some people talking about us on the train home! They were saying how awesome they think the Phantom Thieves are!**

 **Ann: I´ve heard things too. It´s becoming a huge topic of conversation**

 **Yusuke: To be fair, the casualties from a Medjed attack would have been massive. It´s no surprise they revere us for preventing it**

 **Ren: Good to hear**

 **Makoto: Yeah. It´s really all thanks to Alibaba. You were a great help**

 **Futaba: It was nothing**

 **Ann: Oh, that reminds me. Remember that stuff about ATMs and banks just stopping? That wasn´t Medjed, was it?**

 **Futaba: Nope, that was totally separate**

 **Makoto: So people were overreacting to mere coincidence?**

 **Futaba: Either that or those rumors were never true to begin with**

 **Yusuke: Hm, you seem to be quite talkative in these conversations**

 **Futaba: Is that so? I´ll shut up then. : /**

 **Yusuke: ….?**

 **Futaba: :C**

 **Ann: I don´t think I get it, but I´m pretty sure she´s angry**

 **Ryuji: You gotta apologize Yusuke**

 **Yusuke: Me? Why?**

 **Futaba: :U**

-¨Hey, is this really going to be OK? ¨ Morgana asked worry ¨I´m worried about how things will be from now on

-¨Don´t worry, I have faith in all of us¨ Ren changed into his pijamas ¨Time to sleep¨

-¨Good night¨ Morgana said

-¨Also, Morgana¨

-¨Hm? ¨

-¨Thanks for always helping us, we would have been goners a long time ago without you, and no matter what happens, nothing will change that so… don´t forget that¨

Morgana raised an eyebrow ¨Um, are you ok? ¨

-¨I am just saying, so, don´t worry¨

-¨I was not worry, but thanks¨

Ren finally closed his eyes, although the cat was still worry

* * *

Deep in his mind, the world around Ren began to change, he was now in the place that exist between dream and reality, he opened his eyes, wearing his prisoner suit, he got up from the bed

-¨Our master would like a word with you¨ the warden, Justine ¨Stand up straight and listen closely. Inmate¨

-¨I´m fine, thanks for asking, how are you? ¨ Ren replied mockingly

-¨We said pay attention Inmate¨ the other warden, Caroline; hit the gate with his baton

-¨It seems you freed the heart of a frenzied girl and saved her from her haunted past¨ Igor chuckled ¨Another step has been taken to rehabilitation… You are progressing quite nicely¨ a wide smiled formed on his face

-¨Our master bestow words of praise upon you! ¨ Caroline said ¨You´d better feel honored! ¨

-¨ _Funny way to say good job Caroline_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨By the by¨ Igor said ¨More curious information has found its way to your ears. A scientist´s research… It seems that world may secretly be known after all. Furthermore, that very research has been stolen and is now used by those with malicious intent. I wonder how this will change the approach you take toward your rehabilitation¨

-¨I have a bad feeling¨ Ren admitted

-¨I believe I told you we would spare no expense in cooperating with you. Though you have my aid, be sure not to let your guard down. Otherwise, you may get swept off your feet¨

-¨Time to go, Inmate! ¨ Caroline yelled

-¨Always a pleasure to talk with you¨ Ren replied and went back to the real world

* * *

 **8/23 Tuesday**

The following day, Ren, Makoto, Yusuke and Morgana met at Futaba´s room, although

-¨What is that supposed to be? ¨ Makoto asked

Futaba was wearing a mask of a Japanese cartoon woman as a disguise

-¨Such avant garde design¨ Yusuke said in amazement ¨You have excellent taste¨

Futaba turned her chair ¨Mwehehehe¨

-¨At least she is happy¨ Ren said

-¨Let´s get started, shall we? ¨ Makoto suggested

They nod, although certain figures caught Yusuke´s attention

-¨What do you plan on doing? ¨ Morgana asked

-¨I´d like to simply have a normal conversation¨ Makoto said ¨That is the basis of true communication, after all¨

-¨You seem confident¨ Ren said

-¨Yes. You must be well-versed in speaking when you are student council president¨

-¨ _I know that too well_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨Don´t think too hard about our conversation. We´re just going to talk about ordinary topics today¨

Yusuke stop his working ¨And what do you mean by ordinary topics? ¨

-¨You know, things like food or weather. Well then, let´s being with food. What do you like to eat, Futaba? ¨

-¨Organic ones¨

-¨Um, that wasn´t exactly what I meant¨

Futaba went quiet, a little distressed

-¨L-Let´s try a different topic! How about the weather? I heard the heat wave is showing no sign of stopping¨

-¨Dunno. I haven´t been out¨

-¨O-Oh, right¨

-¨Makoto´s getting overwhelmed¨ Morgana said worry

-¨Th-This is odd… It wasn´t supposed to go like this¨ the Student Council President said disappointed ¨By the way Yusuke, what have you been doing this whole time? ¨

-¨Ah, superb¨ the artist said proud

There were five figurines of some warriors dress like Power Rangers, all have bird-like design, but their heads were on the wrong statues, so Yusuke assembled them doing heroic poses

-¨Some of their heads came off when I was moving them¨ Yusuke explained ¨But I made sure to rearrange them pleasingly¨

-¨W-Waaaaaaaaaa!¨ Futaba yelled, her hands trembling near her figures ¨M-My children… Wh-What have you done… to my children? ¨

-¨They appear to be quite shoddily-made¨ Yusuke said

-¨They´re from ¨Phoenix Rangers Neo Featherman! ¨ Futaba clarified, totally outraged ¨No… Yellow and Pink´s heads… And Red´s been hacked to bits… This is all Inari´s fault…¨

-¨Inari? ¨ Yusuke wondered

-¨Your thief clothes were like a fox. According to Japanese folklore, foxes like inarizushi, thus Inari¨

-¨Inari¨ Yusuke growled

-¨Rghhh, they were in the perfect poses too…! It was so much work getting them set up just right! You wouldn´t know aesthetics if it hit you in the face, Inari! ¨

-¨H-How dare you to say that to me of all people!?¨ the Inari asked quite offended

Both of them kept arguing

-¨Sheesh, that´s not a conversation anymore… It´s a full blow argument¨ Morgana said

-¨Yeah¨ Makoto agreed

-¨All right, that´s enough Futaba¨ Ren walked towards her and place a hand on her shoulder

-¨What!? Inari destroys my art and you take his side!?¨

-¨Destroy!?¨ Yusuke asked

¨Yusuke¨ Ren raise a hand ¨Listen Futaba, I understand your feeling, when I was little, my older brother and I argue about the rangers all the time, but you can´t deny they are pretty cool, one way or another¨

The part of ¨brother¨ caught everyone´s attention

-¨You have a brother? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Yeah, didn´t I tell you guys?¨

-¨You most certainly did not¨ Yusuke said

-¨Must have slip my mind, sorry, his name is Hiro Amamiya, he is a defense attorney¨

-¨A defense attorney? ¨ Makoto asked

-¨Yeah, he is around your sister´s age¨ Ren informed ¨ Tell you what Futaba, why don´t we have a marathon on Phoenix Rangers one day?¨

Futaba began to jump in excitement ¨Yes! ¨

-¨Huh? Take a look at that¨ Morgana said stunned ¨Futaba´s having a regular conversation¨

-¨It seems she doesn´t have a problem talking to others as long as the subject interests her. I suppose the topics I brought up were not the right ones¨ Makoto pointed out, although she was more curious regarding Ren saying he has a brother, not only that, but Ren is the younger one and his brother is in the legal world just like her sister, too many things in common

* * *

 **8/24 Wednesday**

The following day, they agreed to meet at Ren´s Room, this time it was Ryuji and Ann turn

-¨Huh, you seem surprisingly calm¨ Morgana said ¨I thought you´d be more panicked¨

-¨There´ re no customers¨ the hacker said

The door of Leblanc opened

-¨Yoooo¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨We´re here!¨ Ann yelled

-¨Eep!?¨ Futaba ran upstairs

-¨Sorry we´re late¨ Ann apologized ¨We were out buying stuff and I got a little caught up in what to get¨

-¨So many snacks¨ Morgana pointed out ¨What exactly do you plan on doing!?¨

-¨Well, summer vacation´s the time when you lounge around in your room all day¨ Ryuji explained

¨Yeah, and eating snacks is the best part of that!¨ Ann agreed

-¨You´re gonna get fat, you know¨ Ryuji said

Ann glared at him ¨Shut it!¨

-¨Do you two need some privacy? I can lend you my room¨ Ren smirked at them, which cause the blonde duo to glared at him

-¨Hey, where´s Futaba?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨You have done well in coming here¨ Futaba said as she approached them, wearing the mask once more

-¨Wh-Whoa! ¨ Ryuji yelled surprised ¨Shit freaked me out… That you, Futaba?¨

The hacker nod ¨Yup. Welcome¨

-¨Why are you wearing that?¨ Ann asked

-¨Habit. Anyway, bring it¨

-¨Not sure I get it… but let´s do this!¨ Ryuji claimed in excitement

Everybody went upstairs, where Ren decided to fill them in regarding something

-¨Wait, you have a brother?!¨ Ryuji asked surprised

-¨Yes, I guess I forgot to tell you, sorry¨

-¨Is fine¨ Ann reassured him

-¨I guess since we have been jumping from Palace to Palace, it slipped my mind, next time he comes to visit, I´ll be sure to introduce you all to him¨

-¨Cool, it is going to be epic, but now, let´s get back to what is important¨ the blonde guy stretched his arms ¨For real, it was freakin´ amazing! There were girls all over me! And… Wait, you don´t believe a word I´m sayin, do you?¨

-¨Uh, it´s you we´re talking about here¨ Ann said ¨There´s no way you were ever a chick magnet¨

The former runner frowned ¨What was that?¨

-¨Agreed¨ Futaba added ¨As a member of the opposite sex, I sense no charm from you, Ryuji¨

-¨Plus, popular guys wouldn´t go bragging about that stuff to other people¨ Morgana added

-¨Shut up! ¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨I´m sure you will find someone someday Ryuji¨ Ren tried to cheer him up

-¨Thanks dude, glad to see someone actually backs me up¨

They kept talking about different things

-¨I keep wondering if I should do it while I´m still young¨ Ann wondered ¨But the dresses show a lot of skin, right?¨ she noticed that Ryuji was not paying attention ¨Hey, are you even listening!?¨

-¨There´s no point talking about wedding dresses right now. None of us have significant others¨

-¨Yup¨ Futaba agreed ¨I don´t wanna get married right now¨

-¨Can we please talk about something else!?¨ the cat yelled

They changed the topic at the cat´s command

-¨Y´know, Futaba´s fine havin conversations¨ Ryuji said

-¨Yeah, she doesn´t have any troubles speaking her mind¨ Ann agreed ¨Seems totally normal to me¨

-¨I dunno what normal is¨ the hacker admitted ¨But if this is it, I´m happy¨

-¨I totally thought you were gonna be some weirdo, but I guess all that worryn was for nothing¨ Ryuji said

-¨Mm-hm¨ Ann nodded ¨I´m relieved too. I think things should keep going smoothly at this rate. By the way, what´s on the agenda for tomorrow?¨

-¨How about we have her try helping around the store?¨ Morgana suggested

-¨That´s perfect!¨ Ann agreed ¨It´ll be good practice to have her up in front of strangers¨

Futaba got alarmed ¨Eep! Nope, nope, nope! Showing up in the shop at lunchtime ´ll be like, super-crushing hard mode!¨

-¨You don´t have to deal with customers if you don´t want to. Maybe you could dry plates in the back? ¨ Ann suggested

-¨Hrgh… Nrghhh¨

-¨I´ll be there too¨ Ren said

-¨I´d be mad if you weren´t¨

-¨Then it´s all set. We´ll be rooting for you, Futaba!¨ Ryuji exclaimed

-¨Grr.. You´re all gonna pay for this someday¨

After more talking, each one went home

* * *

 **8/25 Thursday**

The next day, Ren and Futaba were at Leblanc

-¨You want me to let Futaba help out around the shop?¨ Sojiro asked, not believing it ¨But I´ve never had her do anything like that before, is she gonna be OK?¨

-¨I´ll be there for her¨ Ren reassured him

-¨This isn´t the same as taking care of a cat, you know?¨

-¨ _Did he just compared me to a cat?_ ¨ Futaba thought annoyed ¨D-Don´t worry. I did graduate middle school last year. I´ll be fine if I just think of this as my first summer job of high school¨

-¨Well in that case… how about you wash the dishes? Just don´t push yourself too hard, Ok? ¨

The day went on, Ren helping out with the cooking while Futaba did the dishes, everything went well, until the doorbell ringed

-¨Eep!¨ Futaba yelled alarmed

-¨Hey, are you all right?¨ Sojiro asked concerned

-¨The usual, Boss. Extra strong¨ Sojiro´s regular said and took his seat

-¨Sure thing. Keep an eye on Futaba for me¨

Sojiro went to make the coffee

-¨You OK?¨ Ren asked concerned

-¨O-Oui!¨ the hacker replied

While waiting for his order, the customer spoke ¨She a new part-timer? Man, smooth as always¨ he said in amazement ¨What number Bond girl is this, Boss?¨

-¨ _Number Bond Girl?_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨It´s not like that¨ Sojiro said, a bit annoyed

-¨You usually go for the older ones, right? ¨ the regular asked ¨It´s only natural you´d want someone younger sometimes. It´s like the Guatemala Peaberry coffee. It´s acidic sweetness is akin to a breath of fresh air¨

-¨Sorry, we´re serving a blend today. Speaking of which, hey, snap out of it. Hurry up and bring him the coffee before it gets cold¨

Futaba went to give him the coffee, but

-¨A-Aaaah!¨ the customer yelled

-¨Yo, here´s your coffee¨ Futaba said, although, she was wearing the mask once more

Sojiro scratched his head confused ¨When in the world did she¨

-¨Don´t ask me, one moment, she was regular Futaba, I turned around for a second, and she is like that¨ Ren said

-¨Hey, Futaba. Haven´t I told you not to show up in front of people with that damn thing on? And be more polite when you´re bringing something to a customer¨

-¨H-H-Here is your coffee… sir¨ she said with hesitation

-¨A-Ah… Thanks¨ the client replied

The day went on

-¨Did you see!? I did my job right!¨ Futaba exclaimed proudly

-¨Take that thing off¨ Ren said

Futaba jump scared ¨But it, um, protects me from the steam!¨

-¨To think Futaba´d go out and talk to a customer herself… Mask aside, I´m impressed¨ Sojiro was proud

The day was over, now Ren was with Morgana in his room, his phone ringed

 **Yusuke: Did anyone here share information about our real identities?**

 **Ryuji: Like hell we´d do that!**

 **Makoto: Why the question?**

 **Yusuke: I overheard someone in the city saying they´re our acquaintance**

 **Futaba: Talk about false rumors**

 **Ryuji: But hey, at least we´re famous enough to HAVE rumors about us! We might even break into the news online! Or maybe TV!**

 **Ren: Yeah, if we get caught**

 **Ann: Well… yeah…**

 **Makoto: By the way, how did today go?**

 **Futaba: I served coffee to customers!**

 **Ren: She did good**

 **Ann: That´s great, Futaba-chan!**

 **Ryuji: Anyways, you better get used to it fast. You can´t be a Phantom Thief if you´re scared of people!**

 **Futaba: I´ll try my best**

Once the conversation was over, Ren went to sleep

* * *

 **8/26 Friday**

The following day, his phone ringed

 **Ann: I´m out shopping with Makoto. We´ll head over when we´re done**

 **Makoto: Honestly, I wanted to bring Futaba along with us**

 **Ann: We can´t just take her into crowds like that though! That´d be way too soon!**

 **Makoto: Sometimes drastic measures are necessary**

 **Futaba: Such spiky words**

 **Makoto: You know you´ll need to do this someday, right?**

 **Futaba: Actually, Queen´s clothes have lots of spikes too. They´d prolly pierce my hand if I touched them**

 **Yusuke: I have honestly considered that possibility as well**

 **Makoto: You too, Yusuke!?**

 **Ren: Same**

 **Makoto: Not you Ren!**

 **Ryuji: Hey, this sounds like fun. I wanna join in**

 **Ann: We´re talking to Futaba! This doesn´t involve you!**

 **Futaba: Note: Ann is cold to Ryuji**

 **Ann: Don´t take note on this. Anyway, look forward to us coming over!**

 **Futaba: My heart´s pounding**

Later, Ryuji, Yusuke and Futaba arrived at Ren´s room

-¨Today´s the fourth day already. You getting a little better at dealin with other people?¨ Ryuji asked

Futaba grabbed her arm ¨Hrmmm… I dunno. I can´t really tell¨

-¨People cannot change their deep- seated habits that easily¨ Yusuke said

-¨Well, let´s just say you´ve made some progress for now¨ Morgana said

Futaba began to yank Morgana´s cheeks

-¨Ack! S-Stop it! You´re gonna pull my cheeks off!¨

-¨ _Pretty sure that if it was Ann, you wouldn´t complained_ ¨ Ren thought

After a while, Makoto and Ann showed up

-¨Apologies for the lateness¨ Makoto said ¨We were looking at multiple items and weren´t sure which to choose¨

-¨Looking? Looking at what?¨ Morgana asked

-¨A swimsuit, of course¨ Ann said ¨For Futaba-chan¨

-¨A-A s-s-swimsuit!?¨ Futaba asked surprised

-¨You don´t have one, do you?¨ Ann asked

-¨No, but¨

-¨Ok. Let´s have you try it on right now then¨

-¨N-Now!?¨

-¨You can´t go to the beach if you don´t have a good-fitting swimsuit. We don´t have much time left, you know¨

Makoto glared at the boys ¨You know what´ll happen if you try and look… right?¨

Since they value their lives, the guys went downstairs

-¨All right, let´s get started¨ Makoto said

-¨Urghh, fine¨ Futaba groaned

-¨Cheer up Futaba, is just clothes¨ Ann said

-¨If it makes you feel any better, we also have ones as well¨

-¨Yeah¨ Ann looked at Makoto ¨Say Makoto, aren´t you nervous? ¨

-¨About what? I have been at the beach before¨

-¨Well, yeah, but since Ren is there, you know¨

Makoto frowned, although her cheeks turned slightly pink ¨Please, you are overreacting¨

-¨Hm? What are you talking about?¨ Futaba wondered

Makoto decided to explain her agreement with Ren

-¨As you can see Futaba, nothing is really going on, we are merely pretending¨

Futaba got a grin on her face ¨Oh, really? ¨ Futaba got her phone out and showed Makoto a photo ¨Care to explain this?¨

Makoto gasped shocked ¨That´s¨

Futaba got the photo in which Ren and Makoto were hugged together; Makoto was holding a bouquet of roses

-¨Oh my god, you two look so cute! ¨ Ann yelled, grin on her face as well

-¨Futaba, how did you got that? ¨

-¨Hacking, daaaaah¨ the hacker replied as if it was obvious ¨I was wondering why you guys were taking so long with stealing my heart, so I hacked Ren´s phone to see what was going on and I found this. I couldn´t get mad, you know? You looked so happy, plus, you remind me of two characters of Phoenix Rangers Neo Featherman, so that´s a plus¨

-¨I agree¨ Ann said ¨Makoto, he is so into you¨

-¨H-He is not¨ Makoto said, at this point, her face was crimson red ¨It was only to convince Eiko¨

-¨Aha, right, sure¨ Ann said, not believing it at all

-¨Say, I know that you are pretending and everything, but what if you to have to… you know… kiss? ¨ Futaba asked

At soon as those words were said, Makoto remember how close both her and Ren´s lips were back at the Palace ¨We-We have established that we don´t like to get all clingy on public, so problem solved¨

-¨Wow, you really planned everything¨

-¨I am surprised you know so much about this stuff Futaba¨ Ann said

-¨Hey, I was a shut-in, not an ignorant, but I can see it¨ Futaba began to sang ¨Ren and Makoto sit in a tree, K-I-S-S¨

-¨And let´s not forget about the blue-haired girl you got all jealous about¨ Ann teased

-¨Do you have to bring that up?¨

-¨Hey, I like that attitude¨ Futaba said ¨Don´t let her steal you man¨

-¨Nobody is stealing anyone from anybody, and he is not my man, now, can we go back to what´s important instead going on my feelings for Ren?¨

Both Futaba and Ann over dramatically gasped

Makoto realized what she said ¨I mean, whatever I think, whatever he thinks is irrelevant here¨

Futaba laughed ¨You two would give fanfiction writers and fan art artist so much to work on, in fact¨ Futaba began to type on her phone

-¨What are you doing?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Writing to a friend fanfic writer of mine, PRemington900¨

-¨Oh, I know of him, I love his Fire Emblem work¨

-¨He is cool¨

Ann folded her arms ¨But, this is real life, so…¨

-¨He can put it at the miscellaneous category or something like that, he´ll figure something out¨

While the girls were busy fangirling, Makoto began to thought of Ren, all the times he had stood up for her, holding hands, the roses, and for some reason, she wanted to get closer and pressed her lips against his, what is going on with her?

-¨ _We are just faking, the photo was his idea, so it does not mean anything, right?_ ¨ she thought for herself, now worry about the whole swimsuit thing

* * *

Meanwhile, the boys were downstairs

-¨How do you think they are going?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I can´t tell, I did heard Ann yelling Oh my god, you two look so cute¨ Yusuke pointed out ¨What could it mean?¨

-¨Oh wow¨ They heard Makoto´s voice ¨It´s perfect. I´m amazed you were able to eyeball it with such accuracy, Ann¨

-¨I know, right? ¨ Ann´s voice was heard ¨There we go. It´s on¨

-¨What the!?¨ Futaba´s voice was heard ¨This barely covers anything!¨

-¨That´s normal for a swimsuit¨ Ann said ¨Now we just need to push these a little more this way…¨

-¨Gyah!¨ Futaba yelled

Ryuji´s eyes went wide ¨Push?¨

-¨Are you supposed to move them with that much force? ¨ Makoto´s voice was heard

-¨I wonder what they´re doin up there¨ Ryuji wondered ¨Speaking of which¨ Ryuji grinned at Ren ¨Yo, RenRen, aren´t you excited?¨

-¨What do you mean?¨

-¨Well, you know, Makoto, swimsuit, I mean, it will be the first time you see her like that¨

-¨So?¨

-¨Wait, aren´t you a couple?¨

That question caught Ren off guard a bit, so he decided to explain his situation with Makoto

-¨So you two are pretending to date to make sure this Eiko girl´s boyfriend is not dangerous?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Precisely¨ Ren replied

-¨Then what about the flowers?¨ Ryuji asked

Ren was surprised to hear that ¨How do you know about that?¨

-¨Well, when I left the gym the other day, I saw you giving her some flowers, I didn't know you were datin, but you two seem fine, so I merely shrugged and went home, but are you sure you are only pretending it?¨

Now normally Ren will deny it, but considering his troubled feelings, he couldn´t ¨I am not sure, all right? ¨

-¨Oh my¨ Yusuke said

Ren let out a sigh and took a sip of coffee

-¨Don´t worry dude, whatever you choose, we will support you¨ Ryuji reassured his friend

-¨Thanks¨

-¨Who knows? Maybe seeing her tomorrow with a swimsuit will help you clarified your doubts, or at least, dreaming about having sex with her¨

Ren spit his coffee

-¨Ryuji!¨ Yusuke said outraged

-¨What? People think about stuff like that all the time¨

-¨All right, that´s it, you are out!¨ Sojiro began to walk angrily towards Ryuji

-¨Oh, come on Boss, we are at that age and ouch, ouch, ouch¨ Sojiro yanked from Ryuji´s ear and throw him out of Leblanc

The girls came downstairs

-¨And we are done!¨ Ann yelled ¨Hey, where is Ryuji?¨

-¨Long story¨ Sojiro said, Ann shrugged

* * *

 **8/28 Sunday**

The days went on, and now it was the final day before the beach trip, once again, Ren and Futaba were helping out at the café

-¨You want anything Futaba?¨ Sojiro asked

-¨Orange juice. 100% natural¨

The door of the café opened up

-¨Good morning, sorry to interrupt¨ Makoto said

-¨Good morning¨ Ren said

-¨Hello there, what brings you here? ¨ Sojiro asked

-¨I was bored at home so I drop by to check on Futaba, is that all right? ¨

-¨Not at all, you should have seen how many customers I handled so far¨ the hacker replied proudly

-¨Thank goodness¨ she looked at Ren ¨Anyway, I was hoping we could do some study together¨

-¨Sure, I don´t want to fall behind, you don´t mind? ¨

-¨Nah, go ahead, considered it your break¨

-¨I´ll go get my stuff¨

After that, the two began to revise on the different subjects; they kept at this for a while

-¨Want some coffee?¨ Ren asked

-¨Sure, thank you¨ Ren went to get her coffee

Futaba came out of the bathroom ¨How is the studying doing?¨ she asked Makoto

-¨So far everything is fine, by the way Futaba, I have a proposal to you¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨I want you to start going to the gym¨

Futaba´s eye went wide¨W-what?¨

-¨What´s going on?¨ Ren asked

-¨Makoto said that I need to go to the gym¨

-¨I agree with her, in fact, we discussed it last night¨

-¨What!?¨

-¨The doctor that checked on you said that you don´t have much stamina and lack body muscle for your age, that is not healthy¨

-¨Yeah¨ Ren agreed

-¨B-But¨

-¨We are not saying you have to do it alone, we will be with you and we will go in the moments when there are less people, so nobody will bother us¨ Makoto added

-¨I talked to Sojiro about it, and he says he agrees¨

Futaba glared at Sojiro ¨Sojiro!¨

-¨It will do you good¨ the owner of Leblanc took a puff of his cigarette

-¨So? This will be easier than the beach¨ Ren said

-¨I-I don´t know¨

-¨Tell you what, if you go, we will do anything you want for a whole day¨ Ren added

-¨Considered it as motivation¨ Makoto added

-¨Urgh, fine, but be ready to keep your end of the bargain¨

The day went on and the 3 friends kept talking

-¨Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom¨ Makoto excused herself and went

-¨Hey, you are going to the beach tomorrow, yeah?¨ Sojiro asked ¨Go have fun, and make up for the fireworks. Just try not to cut loose too much¨

-¨Fireworks?¨ Futaba wondered

-¨Oh yeah, you wouldn´t know. He tried to go to a firework festival, but it got rained out. Not only did he get crushed in the crowd, but he came home looking like some kind of drowned rat¨

-¨Fireworks, huh…¨

The door of Leblanc opened, Futaba quickly hid behind the counter, it was

-¨Hello¨ Akechi said

-¨Oh… Welcome¨ Sojiro said

Akechi noticed that Ren was there ¨Oh! You´re¨

-¨Huh? You know each other?¨ Sojiro asked confused, until ¨Wait, aren´t you¨

Makoto came out of the bathroom

-¨Akechi-kun?¨

-¨Oh, Nijima-san, was not expecting you to be here, how are you?¨ the detective asked with a smile

-¨I-I´m fine¨ Makoto said with hesitation, she was not precisely happy due to the fact she was still sore from the time he called her a pushover

-¨ _So they know each other, huh?_ ¨ Futaba thought

-¨What brings you here? ¨ Ren asked

Akechi looked at his surroundings ¨This place is more than I imagined it to be. The atmosphere is wonderful. No wonder Sae-san recommended it so strongly to me¨

That name caught Sojiro attention, he frowned ¨I already told her everything I know. There´s nothing more I got for you people¨

-¨Sis…¨ Makoto whispered

-¨Oh no, that´s not my intention¨ the detective clarified ¨I just came to enjoy some coffee¨

-¨Oh¨

Akechi noticed Futaba behind Ren ¨And she is? Oh, you must be Wakaba Isshiki´s¨

-¨What´ll be?¨ Sojiro asked, interrupting him

-¨I´ll have whatever you recommend¨

-¨I´ll be going now Ren, good work as always¨ Makoto went to get her stuff

-¨Sure you can stay more?¨ Futaba asked

-¨No, I have many things to do back home, plus I left a book that I need¨

-¨Say hi to Sae-san for me, would you? ¨ Akechi asked

-¨I will¨ and now she was gone

-¨Huh? A goody-two shoes as always¨ Akechi chuckled

Ren glared at him ¨Take that back¨

Akechi was caught off guard for this ¨Oh, I am sorry; it was not my intention to¨

-¨But you did anyway, and for your information, she´s not a pushover¨

The detective sighed ¨It seems I´m unwelcome no matter where I go¨

-¨So it´s not just here?¨ Ren asked

Akechi went quiet ¨Did I bother you? My apologies once more, I´ll be sure to apologize to Nijima-san as well¨

-¨It´s fine¨

-¨Apparently, my mother was in a relationship with some low-life of a man. She was swiftly discharged when he learned she was pregnant… That despair would lead to her death¨ he shook his head ¨Thanks to him, I was passed form foster home to foster home. But, I do quite well by myself these days¨

Futaba looked down sad, she knew what Akechi felt

-¨Ah yes. Medjed¨ the detective said changing the topic… To think they´d be taken down by another hacker. I´m not sure whether Medjed was defeated by the Phantom Thieves or an avid supporter¨ he looked at Futaba ¨Um, you´re… Futaba-chan, right? Sae-san told me about you. Many kids your age seem to be fans of the Phantom Thieves. Do you like them too?¨

Futaba did not answer

-¨What´s the matter?¨ he asked

-¨You´re popular too, Ace Detective Akechi¨

-¨Thank you¨ Akechi smiled ¨Although I´d rather not be compared to people like the Phantom Thieves, if at all possible¨ he took a sip form his coffee ¨Mm, this is delicious. You get to drink this every day? I´m incredibly jealous. I would never have thought you´d be boarding at this café… We seem to share some kind of bond¨

-¨It´s just a coincidence¨ Ren said

-¨Haha, your boldness surprises me at times. I believe that fate brings people together. It´s strange, but talking to you is thought-provoking. Well… I think I found my go-to café¨

-¨You are welcome, just don´t expect me to give you a discount¨

Akechi let out a chuckle ¨I wasn´t going to ask¨

-¨Would you like some curry?¨

-¨Maybe next time¨

-¨Say, Ace detective¨ Futaba said ¨Do you know Makoto?¨

-¨Not that much, I merely know her through Sae-san, I have been at her house a few times, but we are acquaintances at best, why do you ask?¨

-¨No reason¨ Futaba leaned into Ren´s ear ¨Good, you don´t have competition¨

Ren looked at her with a raised eyebrow, Futaba giggled

-¨Am I missing something here?¨ Akechi asked confused

-¨Oh, I was just telling Ren¨ Futaba got interrupted by Ren, who gave her a smack on the back head

-¨Ow, meanie¨

-¨Would you like a refill?¨

-¨Um, no, I am fine¨ the detective said, after finishing his coffee, he left the place

-¨Why do yo ask that?¨ Ren asked her

-¨Hey, I was suspicious, you can´t let her conquer Makoto¨

Ren rolled his eyes ¨Nobody is trying to conquer anybody¨

-¨Whatever, still, that guy got me creep out¨

-¨he is a bit… extravagant to say the last, but I don´t think he is that bad, if you took out his show off attitude, he seems nice¨

-¨Oh, so even if he is a detective investigating the Phantom Thieves, you are not mad at him? There´s that famous not judging people attitude¨

-¨If I gave up with every person I met just because a minor disagreement, I wouldn´t have my friends, plus, what is the worse he can do, shoot me in the head?¨

* * *

It was late at night, Makoto was about to go to sleep, when

 **Futaba: You ok? You left in a rush**

 **Makoto: Yes, sorry, I just didn´t felt like dealing with Akechi-kun**

 **Futaba: Hey, no worries, besides, Ren certainly gave a piece of his mind, his words were ¨take back what you said¨ and ¨She is not a pushover¨**

 **Makoto: R-Really?**

 **Futaba: Yeah, that´s our leader, right? Anyway, you are coming tomorrow, right?**

 **Makoto: Of course**

 **Futaba: Good, I´ll be pissed if you don´t, don´t let some random detective put you off, I need you all with me :C**

 **Makoto: Don´t worry, I´ll be there**

 **Futaba: Good, good night**

 **Makoto: Good night**

Makoto did not believed, she only mentioned that to Ren once and he put Akechi on his place, once more, he protect her

-¨ _(Ren)_ ¨

* * *

 **8/29 Monday**

Finally, the day to go to the beach has arrived, it was a sunny day, barely any clouds in the sky, there were lots of people, some were either sun bathing, other were swimming or playing volleyball

The guys were waiting for the girls to finish dressing up

-¨Man, it´s packed¨ Ryuji said, he had an ice cream pallet on his mouth, Yusuke framed his surrounding while Ren used a can of soda to cool off

-¨Sorry for the wait¨ Ann said

The guys got up and there in front of them were the girls, Ann was wearing a two piece swimsuit with a flower patter as well as very colorful

-¨Whoaa¨ Ryuji exclaimed, the stick on his mouth got all raised up when looking at Ann, he had a perverted grinned on his face and moved his hands in a way he wanted to touch, well, you know

Ann began to laugh ¨Got a better opinion of me now?¨ she put her arm around him ¨What, cat got your tongue? C´mon¨ she kept teasing the poor blondie

Meanwhile, Ren stared at Makoto, and boy he was amazed, she was wearing a two piece white swimsuit that had a mini skirt

-¨ _Wow, she looks great, just like always, and maybe even more_ ¨ the probationer thought for himself, feeling his heart pounding faster with every second ¨ _This clearly does not make things easier for me¨_

Makoto also stared at Ren, who was wearing blue normal swimsuit short, and she noticed his abs

-¨ _Wow, I know he goes to the gym with Ryuji often, and all running through palaces must help, but I did not know that he was this fit_ ¨ the Student Council President thought, her heart pounding faster

Both struggled to hide a blush

-¨Are we missing one?¨ Yusuke asked

This brought everyone back to reality, as Futaba has yet to come out, hesitantly she did, she was wearing a yellow swimsuit, although her head was bandaged with the tower, looking like a mummy

The guys gasped shocked, so much that Ren and Yusuke´s eyes went white

-¨Thish ish perfecsh!¨ the hacker said while walking towards them

Makoto let out a laugh ¨There´s nothing perfect about that¨ she began to unwrapped the towel ¨Stay still for a second. You´ll be just fine¨

Now Futaba´s hair was down, everybody smile proudly at her

After that, they all went at their spot

-¨It´s so hooooooot¨ Ryuji groaned

-¨There´s a lot of people here… Are you OK, Futaba?¨ Makoto asked

-¨I´m fine. You guys are here¨

-¨It´s almost lunchtime, why don´t we eat?¨ Ann suggested

-¨I´ll go get us some stuff for us then¨ Ryuji offered

Futaba got a ramen box out of a bag

-¨You´re eating that even here!?¨ Yusuke asked surprised

-¨My stapled food¨ the hacker said

They all sit and began to eat their lunch

-¨This should be a familiar flavor, yet how does it taste so good?¨ Yusuke wondered

-¨What´s up Makoto?¨ Ryuji asked concerned ¨You ain´t eatin much¨

-¨Oh,um¨

-¨Not feeling well or something?¨

-¨You just don´t get it, do you, Ryuji?¨ Morgana said ¨When a girl´s in a swimsuit, she wants to look as slim as possible. Still, you´re worrying too much. Did you make sure to eat breakfast?¨

Makoto folded her arms and looked away, Ren got worry though

-¨ _Did she eat breakfast?_ ¨ he thought

-¨Morgana lacks tact¨ Futaba pointed out

-¨So, whadda we do now?¨ Ryuji asked ¨Should we play some beach volleyball?¨

-¨Oh, sorry. Us girls already made plans to ride a banana boat¨ Ann said

-¨We could only rent a three-person one. Sorry¨ Makoto apologized as well

-¨Wait… Then what about us?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Keep an eye on our stuff¨ Ann got up

-¨Hell no! Why you gotta treat us like that!? We´re celebrities makin headlines! You should treat us better!¨

-¨I do think they´re not bad in the Metaverse, but in reality… Strange, isn´t it?¨ Makoto wondered

-¨They can steal treasures, but they don´t seem like they can a girl´s heart at all¨ Ann mocked them

-¨B-But… Lady Ann¨ Morgana was offended

-¨Can we go to the banana boat already?¨ Futaba asked

-¨Oh sorry, We´ll go now¨ and with that, the girls were gone

-¨Dammit… They don´t get how amazin we are¨ Ryuji said disappointed ¨We risk our lives bein Phantom Thieves. There´s no way we´re the same as other guys around here. Shouldn´t we be havin more good times in reality too!?¨

-¨You have a point¨ Ren admitted

-¨Right? Don´t you agree, Yusuke?¨

-¨Well… if you put it that way, you may be right¨ the artist admitted

-¨Ann and the others don´t get it cause they are always around us and¨ Ryuji said, but he caught himself ¨Oh, sorry, dude, I forgot your situation with Makoto, my bad¨

-¨Don´t worry¨

-¨Hey¨ Morgana said ¨How do we get Lady Ann to notice how amazing we are as Phantom Thieves?¨

-¨Well, we gotta steal… you-know-what¨

-¨Hearts?¨ Ren suggested

-¨Ann made fun of us and all. Let´s show her what we´re really made of¨

-¨I see. I just need to prove my skills in reality as well¨ the cat said

-¨Let´s steal all the hearts with the skills we´ve honed as Phantom Thieves¨ Ryuji looked at Ren ¨You don´t really have to steal a random girl´s heart if you don´t want to, but we could use some support¨

-¨Sure, let´s go¨ Ren said

-¨Very well, let´s do this¨ Yusuke said ¨Pulling off our work in reality doesn´t sound bad¨

-¨it´s settle then, so Mona, you´re in charge of watching over our stuff, OK?¨

And the guys left

-¨Hey, what the hell! Get back here! Don´t leave me behind!¨ the cat yelled

* * *

They tried to hook up with different girls, but all their results ended up in failure, either they were turned down, the boyfriend showed up and so much more

Ryuji kicked the sand ¨I dunno… The ocean just looks kinda bland to me¨

-¨Feel better¨ Ren said

-¨Don´t say like I´m the only one who messed up! We were goin at it as a team, right?¨

-¨Hm¨ Yusuke said ¨I´ve sensed a presence staring at us for some time now. Are we being followed?¨ Yusuke caught sight of what was following them, so he left

-¨See, I told you they´d be here! I could sense it deep within my loins!¨ a deep male voiced yelled

Those perverted passionate man showed up

-¨Y-You´re those guys from Shinjuku!¨ Ryuji yelled, remembering these two ¨What´re you doing here!?¨ he was getting scared

-¨Oh my! I can´t believe we´ve been reunited in such a stunning place!¨ one of the mas yelled excited

-¨We´re the fashion police! If you don´t answer our questions, we´ll take you away¨ another man said with a sly voice as they got closer

Deciding that they were guilty, Ryuji and Ren ran away, it took them a while, but they were safe

-¨I think… we lost ´em¨ Ryuji said while panting ¨Hey, where´s Yusuke?¨

-¨So this is where you two were¨ Yusuke showed up, with two lobsters ¨I´ve been searching for you¨

-¨Uh, what are you doing with those lobsters?¨

-¨While you were busy with your interrogation, I found these beautiful specimens on sale. And so, I decided to spend the last of my money on them¨

-¨Man, you´re really hopeless when it comes to cash¨

Meanwhile, after the girls finished the ride on boat, Ann and Makoto were getting hit on

-¨We´re here with friends¨ Makoto said

-¨C´mon, don´t lie to us, baby¨ a blond, sunbathed man said ¨How about you come for a nice cruise on our boat!?¨

-¨There´s going to be a party too¨ another man said ¨Tons of celebrities and industry people will be coming along¨

-¨Are you even listening to us!?¨ Ann yelled

Ryuji, Ren, Yusuke and the lobsters showed up

-¨Sorry about the wait¨ Ryuji said

-¨Is something wrong here?¨ Ren asked as he walked closer to Makoto

-¨Huh, so you were serious about being here with friends¨ one of the guys said

-¨That´s what we´ve been saying from the start!¨ Ann yelled

-¨Don´t you find it boring spending your time with kids like them?¨ the other guy said

-¨I don´t know, don´t you find boring harassing girls that are clearly not interested in you?¨ Ren retorted, a smirk on his face

-¨Excuse me punk?¨ one of the got close to Ren ¨Just who do you think you are? You punk¨

-¨Oh punk, how original, if you work on your insults and flirting skills just as much as you work on your tan, you might actually have a chance¨

-¨What was that!?¨

-¨I believed my friends said they are not interested in you, so please leave¨

-¨What? You are her bodyguard or something?¨

-¨Oh trust me, they can take care of themselves without my help¨

-¨You little¨ the guy went for a punch, which was stopped for Makoto

-¨Huh?¨

-¨No you won´t¨ Makoto began to twisted the guy´s arm and put it behind his back

-¨Augh, augh¨ the guy began to scream in pain

-¨Let me tell you something, hanging out with them is far more interesting than anything involving you two, now leave right now!¨ she let go off him

The two guys ran away

-¨Wow, so freakin cool!¨ Ryuji said amazed

-¨That´s Queen for you people¨ Ann added

-¨Impressive as always¨ Yusuke said

-¨Those guys just wouldn´t stop pestering us, thanks for stepping in¨ Makoto said

-¨No problem, but as I said, you two could have defend yourselves without our help¨ Ren said

-¨By the way, where are Futaba and Morgana?¨ Yusuke asked

As soon as they were mentioned, the hacker and cat showed up

-¨Ohhh!¨ Futaba said in amazement ¨Are those lobsters? One in each hand¨

-¨I was wondering about that myself¨ Ann said

-¨Let´s just say we have our share of problems too; for starters, we got rejected by many girls¨ Ryuji said

-¨Not surprised¨ Ann said

-¨Hey! Urgh, I don´t get it, Ren, you have been at multiple dates before, how could you failed like that?¨

That part got Makoto´s attention ¨D-Dates?¨

-¨Yeah, I´ve been helping out Mishima with some double dates, not some much¨

-¨I-I see¨

Meanwhile

-¨Are you going to make them into sashimi? Or perhaps roast them whole!?¨ Morgana said, drooling at the sight of lobsters, while Futaba tried to steal them

-¨Enough of your vile postulations! These are purely for the sake of visual appreciation!¨ Yusuke said while trying to protect the lobsters

-¨Why don´t we go back to our spot?¨ Ann suggested

-¨You guys go ahead, Makoto, can I show you something?¨ Ren said, the honor student nod while the others went back

-¨What is it?¨

-¨Just wait here¨ and Ren ran, after a few minutes, he came back with two cones of ice-cream, one of chocolate and the other of vanilla

-¨Huh?¨ Makoto was confused

-¨I noticed you didn´t eat that much, so you must be a little hungry, here¨ he offered the chocolate ice cream

-¨Ren, there´s no need for you¨

-¨Don´t worry about your figure, you are going to be fine¨ he smiled at her

Makoto turned slightly pink ¨All right¨ she took the ice cream ¨Thanks¨

-¨No problem¨

Makoto frowned ¨Wait, hold on a second, why on earth were you on those dates with Mishima?¨

-¨I was just doing a favor, you are mad?¨

-¨W-Well, no, but what if Eiko saw you? Our whole planned would have crumbled¨

-¨Relax, I could simply just tell her that I was doing a favor for a friend, plus, those girls were only interested in Phantom Thieves stuff, bit boring if you ask me¨

-¨I-I see¨

-¨Besides¨ he put an arm around her and smirked at her ¨Why go out with those commoners when I have your highness?¨

Makoto rolled her eyes ¨Very funny, just be careful¨

-¨Sure, let´s go back with the others¨

They began to walk while eating their ice creams

They reunited with the others

-¨We´re back¨ Ren said

-¨What are you talking about?¨ Makoto

-¨Just merely listening to Ryuji about his rejections, not so much¨ Futaba said

-¨Do you really have to say it like that?!¨ Ryuji yelled ¨Say Makoto, I´ve been curious about something, but is your sister single?¨

Makoto raised an eyebrow ¨Why do you ask?¨

-¨Well, you said that she has quite the commendable job, so someone like her should be quite the catch¨

-¨Aiming a little too high, aren´t you Ryuji?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Not like that man! I am just curious

Makoto put her hand on her chin ¨Well; my sister is quite the perfectionist so I think whoever dates her would likely have a hard time. You´d be scrutinized not only for punctuality, but table manners, attire and even speech¨

The others sweat at the demands of Sae

-¨Yikes, that´s a high hurdle¨ Ann said

-¨I have fought videogame bosses that require less than that¨ Futaba said

-¨It´s definitely impossible for the ordinary person on the street¨ Ann added, and looked with a sly smile at Ren ¨Ah, but if it´s you, maybe it´s possible!?¨

Ren raised an eyebrow at her ¨That came out of nowhere¨

-¨E-Ehh?¨ Makoto covered her mouth ¨Hold on Ann, what are you saying all of a sudden!¨

-¨It´s fine, we are among ourselves¨ Futaba said

-¨I must admit that I am curious as well¨ Yusuke said

-¨So then! What do you think of someone like Sae-san?¨

Makoto got worry about what Ren would say, once more, someone would prefer her sister over her

-¨Hmmmmm…. Nah, I prefer the younger sister¨ Ren replied as if it was something casual

-¨Eh…!?¨ Makoto covered her face, red taking over ¨W-What are you talking about!?¨ she looked down at the sand, but suddenly, punched Ren at his stomach ¨D-don't joke like that all of a sudden! I´m not use to it so it´s bad for my heart!¨ she got up ¨I-I need a drink¨

And she left quickly

-¨Ok, what the hell?!¨ Ryuji wondered

Futaba got closed to Ann´s ear ¨You know, I think someone got her heart stolen¨ she whispered, to which Ann nod

-¨You all right Ren?¨ Morgana asked

-¨Y-Yeah¨ he groaned in pain ¨ _I do meant what I said though¨_ he thought

Meanwhile, Makoto was busy buying her drink, the crimson never leaving her face ¨ _She prefers me?_ ¨ she thought, and for some reason, a smile formed in her face

* * *

The sun began to set on the horizon

-¨We should probably start heading home¨ Makoto suggested

-¨Agreed. Let´s pack up¨ Yusuke said

-¨Futaba seemed fine in the crow too¨ Ann said ¨So it looks like she´s overcome her last exercise¨

-¨Hey, Futaba¨ Ryuji said ¨We´re going home. Stop standin around and help us out¨

Futaba suddenly knee down

-¨You know¨ she said with grimaced ¨All this time, I thought that it was my fault that my mom died¨

-¨Uh-huh¨ Ryuji said

-¨it´s because everyone said that I killed her. Everyone looked at me thinking I was a murderer. I ended up hating this world. That's why I shut myself in and covered my ears¨ she got up ¨I wished… I wished my mom would come back to life. Sometimes, I´d wake up and think it was all a dream. But nothing had changed in the world. That´s why I´d sleep again. It´d be a repeat of that¨

-¨Ah¨ Makoto sighed with pain, she too knew about losing someone important

-¨I loved my mom. I wanted to become like her. How she´d worked late into the night. How she´d wake up early and make me a boxed lunch every day. How she´d do her best to further her research. How she´d scolded me for peeking at her notes¨

-¨It was cognitive psience, wasn´t it?¨ Makoto asked

-¨The cognitive world can become distorted through desires. If it becomes distorted, a person begins exhibiting problematic behavior in reality. That cognitive world disappears when you remove its core, and further problematic actions stop¨

-¨Isn´t that about Palaces?¨ Ann asked

-¨That´s the Metaverse!¨ Morgana yelled ¨She knew about that?¨

-¨It made no sense back then, but now I understand, after it actually happened to me. All I thought about was my mom. I was trapped in a cognitive labyrinth. I couldn´t get out of it. There was nothing I could by myself¨

-¨That´s why you asked us to steal your heart? That´s a huge jump in logic in so many ways!¨ Ryuji said

-¨At first, I didn´t believe the rumors about the Phantom Thieves… That they steal hearts, but I overheard you accidentally. I learned that you were near me¨

-¨Overheard? Ah, the bug¨ Yusuke said ¨So why you were listening in on Leblanc in the first place?¨

-¨I had to keep an eye on Sojiro. Make sure he was actually working¨ she smirked

-¨Talk about an awful hobby¨ Ryuji said

-¨You talked about stealing hearts .When I heard that, I was so happy I jumped up and down¨

-¨You could´ve just told us form the start¨ Ann said

-¨You might´ve been wary of me if I asked out of nowhere. And besides, you could´ve been bad guys¨

-¨But Futaba, you didn´t talk to anyone besides Boss for a long time, right? You must have needed a lot of courage to contact the Phantom Thieves¨

-¨There were 2 reasons for it, one was Medjed´s taunt. The Phantom Thieves were so pitiful. It frustrated me. I would´ve been in trouble if they got disbanded too. The other was what I heard through wiretapping Leblanc. Sojiro was being blamed with lies, like abusing me, he was being threatened to spill everything about my mom¨

-¨Talk about making shit up¨ Ryuji said

Makoto look down ashamed, since it was her sister who did that

-¨It made me sad, and it hurt. I thought I have to save Sojiro. I gotta do something. But the Phantom Thieves. I didn´t think you guys would be taking such risks for me. I didn´t think you´d worry about me so much. Sorry that I acted like I doubted you guys¨

-¨Do you believe in us now?¨ Ann asked

-¨Yeah. I can tell. You aren´t bad guys. That´s why I have a request. Let me join your team¨

-¨There´s nothing to join. You´re already one of us¨ Ryuji said

-¨I´ll be honest. Changing people´s hearts isn´t my goal. I want to learn what happened to my mom… the reason why she was killed¨

-¨Killed¨ Yusuke said

-¨It was written on her notes. Should the self in the cognitive world die, the self in the real world would lose consciousness¨

-¨Is this about mental shutdowns?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Then, the criminal that Kaneshiro mentioned¨ Yusuke said

-¨Yes, that could be the case¨ Makoto said ¨I don´t like pursuing this line of thought, but perhaps your mother´s Shadow was…¨

-¨I don´t know for sure. But right before my mom died, she didn´t seem right. No matter how much I talked to her, she wouldn´t answer back. And she didn´t jump into the road, it was more like she collapsed and fell in. That´s why I thought what was written in the notes was real and looked into it, But I didn´t figure anything out. My mom´s research was nowhere to be found¨ she frowned ¨She was killed by someone, and her research was treated like it never existed. I bet it´s them… Those adults in the black suits who read the fake suicide note. I´ll never forgive them¨

-¨Futaba¨ Ann said worried

-¨If I stay with you guys, I think I can find out more about that world. Then eventually, it might lead to those men in black. It´s a super-personal reason why I wanna join you… Is that OK? Or would I just be dead weight?¨

-¨If anything, you are dependable¨ Ryuji said ¨Ain´t that right, Mona?¨

-¨Why are you looking at me? Are you trying to say I´m inadequate?¨

-¨Well, she was more useful than you, as a matter of fact¨ Ryuji mocked

-¨Hey, that´s inexcusable!¨

-¨All right, you two settle down, nobody here is useless, we all served an important role here, remember that¨ Ren said in order to try to calm them down

-¨ _I am more useful than this moron_ ¨ Morgana thought

-¨This is what our Phantom Thieves are like, but I hope we get along. Futaba¨ Makoto said

-¨Thanks¨ she was happy

And after agreeing on her codename ¨Oracle¨ they all went back home, with a new reason to fight

* * *

 **And that is the end for now, and boy, i am beaten, seriously, why do they have to talk so much**

 **Anyways, we have futaba´s rehabilitation (taht scene always made me laughed) and the beach trip and our lovers are letting out a little too much, that part of ren choosing makoto, it´s actually from Makoto commune evet from Persona 5 Dancing Star Night, search on youtube for ¨when you prefer the younger sister P5d¨ and watched it, it´s pure gold**

 **Also, Futaba breaking the fourth wall right there, proper for her character if you ask me**

 **Anyways, next chapter will be the trip to Hawaii and i have been looking forward to write that, why? well, if you have been following, certain girl from Ren past will return and when she meets Makoto, hoo boy**

 **Also, here we have the first mentioned of my OC Hiro Amamiya, who is Ren´s brother, my reason for him is that I felt that Ren could use a figure that stood up for him and help him along his life, besides his mother of course, and be ready, because Hiro will play a big role here, as well as maybe get into something with certain prosecutor, wink wink**

 **Also, since i am now on winter break, i should be able to post more sooner for a while at least, so kudos**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave review or PM me and I will gladly asnwer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	15. I Will Never Hurt You Happy to Met You

**Hello everyone, how are you? befroe we start, want to gice some shoutouts**

 **Tesla_Rolex for his work Alone and Forsaken (Ren x Makoto fic, 5 years after the game, huge knowledge of the Persona world, tragic yet funny as well) in archiveofourown**

 **FlOrangey for her work One Year On Probation (Ren x Makoto fic, no metaverse or persona, well written and good dialogues) in archiveofourown**

 **RyanoftheAbyss for her works like Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder? and A Tiny Queen and a Pint Sized Skull (Both Ren x Makoto and Ann x Ryuji, totally cute and funny) in archiveofourown**

 **Also to PRemington 900, awesome guy as well as Persona 5 and Fire Emblem writer**

 **To my twitter friend Julez_Klassen for her support**

 **Well, with that being said, enjoy**

* * *

 **8/29 Monday**

Ren and Futaba arrived at Leblanc, they were tired from their day at the beach but it was fun

-¨Aaaaaaaand we are back!¨ Futaba exclaimed as she entered Leblanc

-¨You´re back¨ Sojiro said ¨How did it went?¨

-¨It was cool, we ride a banana boat and everything¨ the hacker replied

A small smile appeared in Sojiro´s face ¨Good to hear it¨ he looked at Ren ¨Thanks for keeping her company you know?¨

-¨No problem, we had fun¨

Their phones ringed, it was the group´s chat

 **Makoto: A criminal who uses the Metaverse to carry out their crimes. This is no longer a matter we can ignore**

 **Ryuji: Especially cause they might be the one who killed Futaba´s mom**

 **Yusuke: To be honest, I had considered the idea that they might be behind only the rumored psychotic breakdowns, but now it appears as though this person is killing people as well**

 **Futaba: Technically, they´re making people have mental shutdowns, which then cause them to die**

 **Ryuji: That´s what happens when you kill someone´s Shadow, yeah?**

 **Ann: Mm-hm. We were worried about it back with Kamoshida and Madarame, remember?**

 **Futaba: Psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns… It would make sense if the same person was behind them. The news never talks about the victims dying, so people only know about the breakdowns**

 **Ryuji: So this shit´s seriously a case! If that´s for real, whoever´s doing it is some kinda assassin!**

 **Futaba: I´m gonna beat the crap outta them**

 **Yusuke: I would suggest we be more cautious going forward as well. We still don´t know much, even about our Metaverse Nav.**

 **Makoto: That is true**

 **Ryuji: I wonder why that thing exists**

 **Ren: There was a man in my dream…**

 **Ryuji: A dream? You still half asleep, dude?**

 **Ann: I wonder if that criminal is using the app too**

 **Makoto: Futaba, this seems like your area of expertise. Do you know anything about it?**

 **Futaba: No, I´d never even heard of it before. I mean, it´s not really even an app. It´s more like… a mysterious app-like thing**

 **Makoto: I see**

 **Futaba: It´s OK though, I might not know much about the Nav, but I can still navigate you guys on the path to victory! I´ll guide you to whatever criminal you´re looking for. Mwehehe… You can rely on me!**

 **Ryuji: Awesome, dude! You´re way more reliable them Mona!**

The cat clenched his teeth ¨Dammit, Ryuji… You always find the worst possible things to say!¨

Ren and Futaba exchanged concerned looks

-¨Anyway, I made some curry for you, have a seat¨

The duo took their seats and ate the curry, after eating, Ren took the dishes and began to washed them

-¨How was the curry Futaba?¨ Sojiro asked

-¨Delicious!¨ Futaba smiled ¨I´m gonna be dreaming of that stuff tonight!¨

Sojiro nod ¨Um… did it taste the same as you remember it?¨

-¨Yup. I feel like a dummy for not wanting to eat it back when I was depressed about my mom…¨ her eyes went wide ¨Oh yeah! The first episode of this brand-new anime I wanna watch is airing tonight! I´m outta here!¨

-¨Eyes in front when you walk, OK? No spacing out. You ran head first into a pole last time you went for a walk¨

Futaba stump angrily ¨Well you stubbed you toe on the dresser the other day! Aw crap! It´s gonna start!¨ she waved her hand at Ren ¨Making like a leaf, and… Eh, screw it. Bye!¨ and she began to walk away

-¨Bye, eyes in front, OK?¨ Ren replied mockingly

-¨Ñañañañañaña ouch!¨ Futaba run into the door, she rubber her head

Sojiro and Ren exchanged smirks

¨One word from any of you and you will regret it¨ Futaba threatened and left

-¨She thought it was delicious¨ Sojiro smiled proudly and looked at Ren ¨And what about you?¨

-¨I think I´m addicted! It was delicious, but I plan to surpass it¨

-¨Heh, in your dreams, but I guess you have pretty good taste if you can understand how incredible that curry is¨ his expression went from happy to serious ¨Now then… There´s something I should probably tell you. Here, take a seat, I´ll pour you some coffee¨

Ren took his seat

-¨Remember how I said the recipe for this curry was developed by a scientific genius? You might´ve realized by now, but that genius was Futaba´s mother… Wakaba, in other words, that curry is one of the last remaining connections Futaba has to her mom¨

Ren´s eyes went wide

-¨I first met Wakaba back when I was doing work for the government. She was real trouble, let me tell you, logic prevailed over emotion for her, and she had an intricate knowledge of the human mind¨ he let out a laugh ¨I thought my pick-up lines were the best in town, but not a single one worked on her… Heh…¨

-¨She wasn´t normal, huh?¨

-¨You can probably get a good idea from just looking at Futaba. Wakaba was like the adult version of that¨

-¨ _Except for the Phantom Thief part though_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨It was almost impossible to keep up with her. Men are idiots though… We spend our time chasing after things we can´t get. Wakaba rejected me time and time again… but there was one instance I managed to surprise her and that was when I gave her a plate of my homemade curry. The very next day she came asking all about the ingredients and what goes into the cooking process. Then just a few days later, she handed me a scientifically-enhanced version of my recipe. It was incredible, she had used my curry as the basis, but it was miles better than anything I made. Curry was Wakaba´s specialty from then on. Naturally, Futaba grew to love it in no time as well¨ his expression turned into one of grief ¨But then after Wakaba´s accident… Futaba stopped eating it entirely. The flavor would make her remember the pain… I´ve heard even smells can bring back memories too, but… that curry was the only point of connection I had with Futaba. That´s why when I took her in, I vowed to keep this recipe alive until she could eat it again¨

-¨It really paid off in the end¨ the trickster said

-¨Yeah. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders when she said it was delicious. The whole idea of pairing the curry with a nice brew is thanks to Wakaba´s refinement too. Despite how introverted she seemed, she was extraordinarily perceptive of the people around her. I never even told her about my love of coffee. She figured it out just from looking at me¨ he shook his head in amusement ¨That was when I realized she was totally out of my league, not that I really stood a chance to begin with though, she already had Futaba by then, after all¨

Ren grinned ¨So the mighty Sojiro lost for a change when it came to conquering women? I am surprised¨

-¨Heh, like you could had done better, regardless, this might seem like any old curry to most people, but there´s tons of emotions crammed inside, so uh… make sure to keep the tradition going¨

-¨I will, don´t worry¨

Sojiro nod and after cleaning up, Ren went to his room, his phone ringed, it was Makoto who created a chat for her, Ren and Futaba

 **Makoto: Ren, as you have probably realized, we start school again in a few days**

 **Ren: Don´t worry, I have been keeping up with my studies**

 **Makoto: Good**

 **Futaba: Ouch, she doesn´t let you rest from school duties even at summer vacation? Too bad for you Ren, mwehehehe**

 **Makoto: Don´t laugh. Anyway, I ´ve decided and if you agree Ren, we should take Futaba to the gym on the 31 so she can start her regimen**

 **Ren: Agree**

 **Futaba: Wait, what?!**

 **Ren: Who is laughing now Futaba?**

 **Futaba: Shut up! But I… I don´t have gym clothes, plus we are going for sushi that day, so hah!**

 **Makoto: I have already taken care of that and we can easily go after you are done eating**

 **Futaba: Hacks! I call hacks!**

 **Ren: You are a hacker yourself, you can´t use that card**

 **Futaba: Urghhhhh, no fair!**

 **Makoto: Futaba, we made an agreement**

 **Futaba: Fine, but you two better keep your word!**

 **Ren: We will, see you all that day**

-¨For some reason I have a bad feeling about this¨ Morgana said and the duo went to sleep

* * *

In the deepest part of Mementos, there was a pool of a black-reddish substance and form it a monstrous emerged, it was scratching its head and breathing heavily, it turned its head around, revealing a pair of big golden eyes, it was Morgana

-¨Agh!¨ Morgana yelled while waking up, it was nightmare ¨That black this was… me?¨ the cat shook its head furiously ¨That can´t be true. I´m supposed to be human¨ it frowned ¨I should be. It we get rid of the distortion in the depths of Mementos, I´m sure… I´m sure it´ll all be fine!¨

Ren woke up

-¨Sorry, did I wake you up?¨

-¨What´s wrong?¨ Ren asked concerned

-¨Oh,um…¨ the cat forced a smile ¨My sunburns were hurting, and that woke me up! I was absorbing all the sunlight because I´m black. Don´t you get it?¨

-¨You´re burnt black¨

-¨It´s all natural!¨ the cat went quiet for a moment ¨By the way, it´s not like I´m bothered by this or anything… But hypothetically speaking, OK? What would you do if I turned out to be some weird… thing?¨

-¨It wouldn´t bother me¨

-¨R-Really?¨ the cat began to whisper to itself ¨If what I saw from earlier is true, is it OK for me to stay with the Phantom Thieves, and even if I´m with the team, I´m useless at the moment¨

-¨Morgana?¨ Ren asked more concerned

-¨It´s nothing¨ the cat scratched its head ¨Well, I´ve gotten pretty used to my life as a cat too. And to be frank, this storage room isn´t bad either. Then again, I can´t wait to turn back to being a human so I can move out. Maybe I´ll live a life of luxury in a suite on the highest floor¨

-¨ _His obsession with being human is starting to worry me¨_ Ren thought

-¨But rather than becoming some weird thing, maybe staying as a cat isn´t so bad either¨ he looked at Ren, a hint of desperation on its face ¨You and me made a deal, yeah? That means I can stay here… Isn´t that right?¨

-¨Yeah, of course¨

The cat sighed a bit ¨Thought so. Don´t forget what you just said, OK? Now let´s hurry up and sleep¨

Ren nod ¨You can count on us Morgana, don´t forget it¨ and he returned to sleep, but Morgana did not

-¨It´ll be fine, right?¨

* * *

 **8/31 Wednesday**

Two days later, Ren, Futaba and Sojiro went for sushi, Futaba devouring the food like there was no tomorrow

-¨So how is it? Good?¨ Sojiro asked

-¨Delihious!¨ Futaba replied, her mouth stock up with sushi

-¨Don´t wolf down like that. No one´s gonna take your food¨

Suddenly Futaba began to choke due to eating too fast

-¨What did I tell you? Drink some tea¨

The hacker drank her tea, but

-¨Hresfroomf!¨

-¨Huh? Restrooms? They´re that way?¨

And so she ran, most likely to throw up, Sojiro let out a sigh

-¨Sheesh, what a busy girl¨

-¨Let´s just be glad it was not curry though, that would have been much worse¨ Ren said

-¨No kidding¨ Sojiro took a sip of his tea and look around ¨Back in the day, she, her mother, and I used to go eat out often… This brings back memories… I had completely forgotten about it too¨

Futaba came back with a frown on her face ¨That was close… I thought I was gonna die!¨ she quickly smiled ¨Welp, time to resume¨

-¨Hm? You´re still going to eat?¨ Sojiro asked incredulously

-¨I´m all full. I´m throwing in the towel!¨

-¨Which is it?¨ Sojiro got up from his seat ¨I´m gonna use the restroom and then pay the bill, check please¨

And so he left

-¨When I got into middle school, my mom and Sojiro took me out to eat sushi to celebrate¨ Futaba said ¨That sushi was good. Today´s was pretty good too. I hope the three of us can come again sometime¨

-¨Me too¨ Ren said

-¨When should we do this again?¨ her expression turned into a sad one ¨I wish she could´ve had today´s sushi too¨ she got angry ¨I want to find out what happened to Mom… I won´t forgive the guy who triggered her mental shutdown¨ she smiled a bit at Ren ¨So, you better help me out¨

-¨Of course, which is why we are walking all the way to the gym so you can get fit¨

-¨Argh, do you have to bring that up?¨

-¨A hundred twenty thousand yen!?¨ Sojiro asked incredulously ¨You´re joking, right?¨

-¨As for your question of when we can do this again Futaba, maybe when we have a little extra money¨ Ren said

-¨I agree, looks like we won´t be getting sushi to go¨

* * *

Once the bill was payed, Ren and Futaba headed to Protein Lover, where Makoto was waiting for them, she was wearing her gym uniform, which consisted of a white t-shirt, red shorts and a red sport jacket with Shujin logo

-¨Hello there¨ Ren said

-¨Hi, how are you two doing?¨

-¨Must rest, feet hurt¨ Futaba groaned

-¨Futaba, it was only a 20 minute walk¨ Ren said

The hacker glared at him ¨Well, this footwear is not proper for walking that much¨

Makoto sighed a bit ¨Why don´t we head in?

-¨Begin Operation Gym, let´s do this!¨ Futaba yelled and the trio went inside, surprisingly, apart from the instructors, there was no one

-¨Looks like we won´t have anyone bother us, isn´t that good Futaba?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Yeah, I don´t want to have many eyes on me if I failed¨

-¨Don´t think like that¨ Ren said

-¨Anyway, let´s go get dressed, see you in a few minutes Ren¨

They went to the changing rooms, in the female room; Makoto displayed the clothes she chose for Futaba, it was a green short sleeves shirt with an orange Adidas logo as well as orange stripes that started from the sides of the shirt and went all the way to the back, green shorts with orange stripes as well and finally some black sneakers

-¨Hope you like it¨ Makoto said, Futaba went into the dresser and changed her clothes, once over, she came out ¨So?¨

Futaba looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at Makoto ¨It´s cool, the stripes are a nice touch, I feel fit already¨

Makoto smiled proudly ¨Thank goodness, they are yours now¨

-¨Thanks!¨

Once the girls were over, they reunited with Ren, who was wearing his white shirt and black sport jacket and pants

-¨Hey, you look good, you have an nice eye Makoto¨ Ren said

-¨It was nothing, but I am just glad that Futaba likes it¨ the student council president said, a hint of pink on her cheek

-¨I do and I am ready for anything, bring it!¨

The trio went to where the mats where

-¨I downloaded from internet a guide with calisthenics exercises, they are good for beginners¨ Makoto said ¨But first, let´s stretch, try to touch the tip of your feet¨

Both Ren and Makoto did it with no problem, although for Futaba was a bit difficult, she clenched her teeth a bit

-¨Don´t push it too hard¨ Ren said

Futaba decided to stop ¨This is rough¨

-¨Don´t worry, is a working progress¨ Makoto said

Now they stretched her arms and feet for a little more

-¨How are you holding up Futaba?¨ Makoto asked

-¨My joints hurt a little, but I guess that is normal, what is next?¨

-¨Now let´s use the treadmill so we can see how much you can run¨ Ren said and they turn on some of the treadmills, Futaba got on one

-¨Huh, this is easy¨ the hacker said, of course it was on slow speed so she was merely walking

-¨Good, now let´s increased the speed a bit¨ Makoto said and began to increase the speed a little

-¨Whoa, whoa¨ the change of speed made Futaba stumble a little, but she recovered herself and began to jog now ¨Huh, this isn´t bad¨

-¨Good, tried to keep up with this speed for 5 minutes and then if you feel that you can, increased more¨ Ren said and him and Makoto began to run on their treadmills, obviously much faster

After Futaba finished her 5 minutes, she increased the speed more but was only able to keep up with it for 2 more before turning down the machine and getting off from it, she breathed heavily and waited for them to finished

-¨You ok?¨ Ren asked

-¨Yeah, *pant*, although my chest is on fire¨

-¨You did more time that I expected Futaba, good work, if you keep this up, you will be able to endurance more¨ Makoto said

-¨Thanks, so what´s next?¨

The next exercise was to do some pull-ups

-¨You know how to do this exercise Futaba?¨ Ren asked

-¨Yeah, you are supposed to do use your arms to pull your chin above the bar, right?¨

-¨Correct, let me do a demonstration¨ Makoto said and went to the bar, she grabbed the bar with her hands and pull her chin above the bar 10 times

-¨Wow, you made this look easy!¨ Futaba said

-¨It´s all practice, now your turn¨

The hacker went and did the exercise, of course it was hard for her, she managed to do 4 repetitions but she was running out of breath

-¨I think that´s enough Futaba¨ Ren said

-¨One… more¨ the used all of her energy to do one more repetition ¨Nghhh¨ but despite her efforts, she ended up dropping from the bar and landed on her ass

-¨Ouch!¨ she yelled

-¨Are you all right?¨ Makoto bent down next to her

-¨Yeah, it wasn´t that hard of a falling, but still, I thought I could do half¨

Makoto caressed her hair ¨You are still doing fine, so don't worry¨

-¨I know, but I want to be as good as Mona¨

Both Ren and Makoto exchanged confused looks

-¨I mean, he was your navigator before? And my Persona is more support orientated, while he was able to do that and fight as well, I want to be as good¨

-¨Futaba…¨ Makoto said

-¨Don´t worry so much, you are still learning the ropes, if you keep training, you will be just as good¨ Ren said

-¨Agree, and remember we will always help you¨ Makoto added

Futaba smiled a bit ¨Thanks, sorry if I am bothering you two so much¨

-¨Don´t apologize, we want to help¨ Makoto said, Ren nod

-¨Enough with the speeches, next exercise¨

They moved to do push-ups, squats and crunches, after that, they rest for a bit

-¨I´ll go get us some water¨ Makoto offered and went to the machines

-¨How are you holding up?¨ Ren asked Futaba

-¨Fine, it sores obviously, but I feel the results already, of course you two are doing way more¨

-¨You´ll improve, I'm sure of that¨

-¨By the way¨ a devilish grin appeared on Futaba´s face ¨How does Makoto look?¨

Ren rolled his eyes ¨Haha, very funny¨

-¨Just leave it to me¨

Makoto returned with bottles of water, she gave them one each, after resting for a little more, they went back to exercise, they do more push-up and some sit-ups and finally ran in the treadmills, once over, they went to the showers, Ren finished first and wait for the girls, Makoto came out and joined him

-¨Futaba should be done soon, then we can leave¨ Makoto said

-¨No rush, how do you think she did?¨

-¨She started well, we just have to make sure she keeps coming¨

-¨Sure¨

Makoto looked away bit flustered ¨By the way, Ren, th-thanks¨

Ren raised an eyebrow

-¨Futaba told me what you say to Akechi-kun¨

-¨Oh¨ Ren turned pink ¨Well, no problem, I know for sure you are not a pushover, plus, I am sure you can kicks his ass anytime¨

-¨Oh, shut up, like I would do that, but, thank you very much¨

-¨No problems, nobody messes with her highness¨

Makoto rolled her eyes

They kept talking and did not notice that Futaba came out, she looked at them and an evil smile formed on her face

-¨ _Operation Shipping, begin!_ ¨ the hacker thought and took off her glasses and began to cleaned them ¨Stupid steam, my glasses are all covered¨ she raised her arms and began to touch the air, hoping to encounter them, but she could actually saw them without problem, once she was behind then ¨Makoto!?¨ she pushed Makoto´s back

-¨Eek!¨ Makoto said as she was pushed forward

-¨Whoa¨ Ren said and grabbed Makoto before she fell, her head resting on his chest ¨You OK?¨

-¨Y-Yeah, I´m fine¨ she looked up and saw Ren

-¨Good¨

Both kept staring at each other as they hugged, their hearts beating faster than when they were doing exercise

-¨ _That should do it_ ¨ Futaba thought and began to cough

-¨Huh?¨ the due came back to reality and separate

-¨Everything OK?¨ the hacker asked, faking ignorance

-¨Oh, right¨ Makoto said ¨We were waiting for you¨

-¨Sorry, the steam covered my glasses so it was hard to see, anyway, let´s go, I need to rest on my bed¨

-¨Y-Yeah, shall we Ren?¨

-¨After you¨

And the honor student began to head for the exit

-¨Hey¨ Futaba whispered and began to spin her glasses on her finger ¨You are welcome¨ she winked

Ren got an annoyed expression on his face, so he gave her a smack on the back of her head

* * *

Once outside, Futaba spoke ¨Oh, that´s right, you owe me my reward¨

Makoto let out a chuckle ¨Ok, what it will be?¨

-¨There´s actually one place I wanna go more than sushi. Any idea what it is?¨

-¨A ramen shop?¨

-¨Ohhh, washing down our sushi with some ramen? That sounds stylish, but we can do that another time¨

-¨You really should concern yourself with what you eat¨ Makoto said

-¨I want to go to Akihabara, I wanna buy a game, which of course you are paying for it, but I´m scared to do it alone. Do you think you two can help?¨

-¨Of course¨ Makoto said

-¨Sure, but I have to return a DVD at the store¨ Ren said

-¨All right, hurry¨

Both Makoto and Ren went to the store, there was a line for the returning so it took them more than they expected, once out, they notice Futaba was not there

-¨Where is Futaba?¨ Makoto asked

Ren phone ringed

 **Futaba: Since it´s getting late, let´s just meet there, I know how to ride the train after that trip to the beach, so I can get there, I´ll be waiting**

-¨Wait, we´re meeting in Akihabara?¨ Makoto asked concerned ¨Is Futaba really going to be OK?¨

-¨We´d better get over there¨ Ren said and both headed there

* * *

They arrived to the stored Futaba said in the text message

-¨Is this where we´re supposed to be meeting?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Yeah, but I don´t see her anywhere, let´s check around¨

They explore the store in search of Futaba

-¨Are you all by yourself? Where did you come from?¨ A policeman that found Futaba crying asked

-¨I…. Ummmm¨ Futaba was too much nervous to answer properly

-¨Hey, over there¨ Makoto said

-¨Did you run away from home? What´s wrong, little girl?¨ the police kept asking

-¨Uhhh… Ah…¨

-¨Let´s go¨ Ren said, both him and Makoto approached them

-¨Hm. Well, can you come down to the station with me for now?¨

-¨Futaba!¨ Makoto said

-¨Huh? Who are you two? the policeman asked

Futaba´s eyes went wide ¨Ren!? Makoto!?¨ she hid quickly behind them

-¨Do you know this girl?¨

-¨She is our friend¨ Ren said

-¨You´re not lying, are you?¨

-¨Do we look like we are lying?¨ Makoto asked with a glare

Futaba nod in order to confirm that they are not lying

-¨Very well¨

And the officer walked away

-¨Futaba, are you OK?¨ Ren asked

The hacker wiped a tear ¨S-Sorry… I thought I conquered my fears back at the beach¨

-¨What happened?¨ Makoto asked

-¨There wasn´t anyone I knew with me, so I panicked. Felt like my heart was gonna pop. I got so scared all by myself… then I just sorta curled up into a ball… Then all these people started staring at me… and the police came… and then it was all over…¨

-¨We are just glad you are safe, had we not taken so much time at the DVD store, you wouldn´t have rush here¨ Makoto said

-¨Nah, it´s my fault, I am just glad you came for me¨

-¨If you´re ever in trouble, just call us, OK?¨ Ren said

-¨OK¨ she walked closer to the duo ¨Hm… I feel kinda calm when we´re this close¨

-¨What do you mean?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Well, don´t get me wrong, I feel fine whenever I am with any of the others, but with you two in particular, there is something different, I feel calm and protected, you know?¨

Ren and Makoto exchanged confused looks

-¨We are not sure we get it, but it you are happy like this Futaba, it is all that matters¨ Makoto said

-¨Yeah, we want you to be safe¨ Ren said

Futaba shook her head ¨Urgh… Couldn´t even go buy a game by myself. I´m a failure…¨ she went quiet for a moment

-¨Futaba…¨ Makoto said

-¨But I´m OK outside as long as it´s with Ren and Makoto… Are they some kinda key item?¨ she whispered to herself and look at them with determination ¨Please, Ren, Makoto! Be my key items!¨

-¨Huh?¨ Makoto asked confused

-¨I´ll try and get better at navigation if you do!¨

-¨We are not items¨ Ren said

-¨It´s just a figure of speech. I want you both to help me get better at going outside. And in return, I´ll work even harder as you navigator. How´s that for a good deal?¨

Both Ren and Makoto exchanged confused looks, but eventually nod

-¨All right Futaba, we´ll be your key items¨ Makoto said

Futaba jump in excitement ¨All right! Now that that´s over with, let´s gooooo!¨

-¨Hm? Where?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Need. Buy. Game¨

-¨Weren´t you bawling your eyes just a second ago?¨ Ren asked

-¨Yeah, but I have my key items now! Victory conditions met! Plus, you are supposed to pay for it!¨ the hacker began to walk ¨C´mon, let´s roll!¨

Ren and Makoto sighed, once they bought the game, they took Futaba back at Leblanc

-¨Welcome home, how did the gym went?¨

-¨We have a good start, if she keep this up, she will be in top condition in no time¨ Makoto said

-¨That´s great Futaba, good job¨

-¨We also went to Akihabara¨ Futaba said

Sojiro´s eyes went wide ¨What!? That´s incredible¨

-¨I-I guess¨

-¨I just hope you can keep that up. Maybe you´ll even be able to go to high school someday¨

-¨Yeah¨ Futaba said, although she was not precisely happy

-¨Well, that´s enough of that, could you head back home? I want to talk with these two¨

-¨You are not going to nagged them, right?¨ Futaba asked

Sojiro laughed ¨Nah, I just want to say something¨

Futaba left the café

-¨Is something wrong?¨ Ren asked

-¨Nah, I just wanted to thank you both, you have been helping out Futaba a lot, the idea of gym never crossed my mind, plus you were there for her when she wanted to go to Akihabara, so, thanks for the help¨

-¨No need to thanks Boss, we are glad to help¨ Makoto said

-¨I see, well, make sure to be there for her, she has taken quite the liking to you two¨

The duo nod

-¨All right, I´ll take my leave, see you tomorrow at school Ren¨ and with that, Makoto left

* * *

Once in his room, Ren phone ringed

 **Ryuji: Whoa, this approval rating´s insane, it´s over 60% now!**

 **Futaba: Aw, you are making me blush**

 **Ryuji: I´m not talking about you!**

 **Makoto: No, this is definitely thanks to Futaba silencing Medjed**

 **Futaba: See? How about that!?**

 **Ann: It´s kind of frightening how strong this momentum is…**

 **Ren: It´s encouraging**

 **Ryuji: Right? This shit´s like the perfect motivation! Everyone´s got high expectations of the Phantom Thieves. Let´s make sure they´re answered!**

 **Makoto: On top of all that, this case has shed light on something important**

 **Yusuke: You mean the criminal… Well, I suppose at this point we can refer to them as the one behind the mental shutdowns**

 **Futaba: That´s the one who killed my mom**

 **Makoto: We can´t let them be. Let´s talk more in detail about this tomorrow at school**

 **Ryuji: Wait, what the hell!? School starts tomorrow!? You´ve gotta be joking**

 **Ann: Why would she joke about something like that?**

 **Ryuji: I thought we had another week! I didn´t do any of my homework! Eh, I guess it´s fine. It´s not like it´ll kill me or anything**

 **Makoto: I hope you understand what will happen if you don´t do it**

 **Ren: It was nice knowing you Ryuji**

 **Ryuji: Shut up! Like you did it!**

 **Ren: I did**

 **Makoto: He did**

 **Ryuji: So I gotta pull an all-nighter tonight? Give me a break**

 **Futaba: Looks like Ryuji´s gonna end up getting punished for sure**

* * *

 **9/1 Thursday**

The following day, Ren woke up, he was wearing his uniform

-¨Morning¨ Sojiro said

-¨Ohh, a uniform!¨ Futaba yelled, eyes wide

-¨Does it look weird?¨ Ren asked

-¨You look great. Surprisingly¨

-¨What do you mean with surprisingly?¨

-¨Futaba says she´s going to shift to living a morning person´s life¨

-¨A healthy mission starts with a healthy lifestyle¨

-¨Mission?¨ Sojiro asked confused

-¨And onto breaking news¨ the reporter from the TV said ¨In regard to the so-called ¨Phantom Thieves¨ event that have been hot topic among the general public, the Prime Minister held a press conference at his official residence to address the problem¨

-¨The government acknowledges the current rumors of the group called the Phantom Thieves¨ the minister said ¨We are currently confirming facts with the police and wish to deal with it in an appropriate¨

-¨Even the Prime Minister is talking about the Phantom Thieves?¨ Sojiro asked

-¨They are allies of justice, after all¨ Futaba said

-¨They changed hearts, huh? I wonder if it´s true¨

The doorbell ringed, someone entered

-¨Hey Ren, shouldn´t you be at school? I know coffee here is good, but don´t slack off¨ a young, 24 year old man with blue eyes said, he was wearing a long sleeve blue bottomed shirt with a tuxedo, black pants, he had short brown hair, although a bit spiky on the back

-¨Hiro!¨ Ren yelled happy and went for a hug to his brother

-¨How are you doing little bro?¨ Hiro returned the hug and whispered into his ear ¨The thief job must have you occupied, you are making headlines¨

-¨I am fine, I was not expecting you to show up¨

-¨I have day off at work, so I decided to drop by¨

-¨Hey there¨ Sojiro said

-¨How are you doing boss?¨ Hiro asked and noticed that Futaba was there ¨Oh, hello there, you must be Futaba, Ren talked about you¨

-¨I hope he said good stuff, so you are the older Amamiya, right? Ren never mentioned you¨

-¨Oh really?¨ he looked with a smirk at Ren ¨Well, he lacks my looks and charm, so can you blame him?¨

-¨Oh shut up¨ Ren rolled his eyes

-¨Yes, I am his brother, Hiro Amamiya, defense attorney at your service, anyway Ren, go to school, you don´t want to be late, We´ll meet at dinner¨

-¨All right, see you there¨

And with that, Ren went to school, once he got there, he went to his classroom and took his seat, after a while, Ann arrived, took her seat and yawned

-¨Second term´s already started¨ she turned around ¨I think this every year, but isn´t summer vacation too short?¨

-¨We were busy¨

-¨Yeah, but it always ends right when you get used to a life without school, then again, I guess we had some fun things this year¨

Ms. Kawakami walked in

-¨All right, let´s begin homeroom. Let´s see. We´ve just gotten back from vacation, but starting next Monday is the school trip¨

-¨Oh yeah, that´s right¨ Ann said

Kawakami sighed ¨You students are so lucky. You get an entire month off for summer and get to go to Hawaii too. Make sure that none of you cut loose too much, OK?¨

Ren and Ann phones ringed, it was Ryuji

 **Ryuji: All people´re talking about in my class is the Phantom Thieves. Is it the same for you? Talk about being popular. Anyways, now that a new semester´s started, let´s have another operation meeting**

* * *

The day went fast and Ren, Makoto, Ryuji, Ann and Morgana met with Yosuke and Futaba in Shibuya

-¨There you guys are¨ Futaba said while tipping in her computer

-¨Futaba!¨ Ann yelled surprised ¨Did you come here by yourself?¨

-¨I went to get her since I got out of school early¨ Yusuke said ¨Also Ren, I have the opportunity to met your brother, he is indeed a nice person¨

-¨He knows a lot about Phoenix Rangers Neo Featherman, I like him already¨ Futaba added

That part caught everybody´s attention

-¨Your brother is here?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Yeah, it was a surprise visit, but he would only be here today so I don´t think there would be enough time to introduce you all since we want to catch up at dinner tonight¨

-¨Hah! We meet the older Amamiya before the rest, victory!¨ Futaba exclaimed proudly ¨Although, I am surpised he has brown hair¨

-¨Well, he looks after my mother while I do to my father¨

-¨Oh well, it will be next time, you guys enjoy your bonding time¨ Ann said

-¨Bonding time¨ Makoto whispered, somewhat sad

-¨Well then, let´s get talkin¨ Ryuji said ¨Whadda we do now? Should we go after another big target?¨

-¨That´s important too¨ Yusuke agreed ¨But what about that villain in the cognitive world?¨

Makoto frowned ¨It´s almost certain that this person exists. What´s more, they´re inducing mental shutdowns… We certainly can´t turn a blind eye¨

-¨Yeah, but we don´t got any clues¨ Ryuji said ¨But! You know how we´re totes popular right now? Everyone at school´s talking about us, and not a day goes by when you don´t hear about it on TV either! We totally made it big, don´tcha think?¨

-¨True¨ Ann said ¨The rankings on the Phantom Aficionado Website have been crazy too¨

-¨You mean this?¨ Futaba showed them the site

-¨Huh? What the hell!?¨ Ryuji asked stunned ¨First place… keeps changing by the second!¨

-¨People are voting around the clock after all¨

-¨If we go after these guys, I´m sure we´ll score some big cash at least once! What would you use money like that for, RenRen?¨

-¨I´ll put it in savings¨

Ryuji dropped his head disappointed ¨I´ve never heard of a phantom thief that saves up money!¨

-¨Are you fine with that, Futaba?¨ Makoto asked ¨Even though it´s related to what happened to your mother?¨

-¨It´s not OK! I´m definitely gonna punch that guy!¨

-¨The culprit forcing mental shutdowns… If you think about it, there´s no bigger target than that¨ Ryuji said excited ¨If we can change his heart and get a confession outa him, we´ll be on top of the world for real. Should we reveal our identities then? I bet chicks are gonna be all over us!¨

-¨Whoa, whoa, you want us to show our faces!?¨ Ann asked alarmed, but ¨I guess that might be OK?¨

-¨I see. If the true culprit confesses, the existence of the Metaverse will become known¨ Yusuke deduced ¨There would be no need for us to remain in hiding in such a questionable manner¨

-¨Hey! We´re not doing this to stand out, you know!¨ Makoto remind them

-¨Being ¨unknown¨ is the allure of being a phantom thief¨ Morgana added

-¨ _I better don´t tell them that Hiro and my mom knows_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨But considering the hype now, it´s gonna be one hell of a huge deal if we pull it off!¨

Makoto shook her head

-¨Are there really no clues regarding those mental shutdowns cases?¨ Morgana asked ¨If I remember right, wasn´t the older Niijima sister investigating it?¨

-¨Yes… I can pry and ask about it, but she´ll just tell me to mind my own business and get angry with me¨

-¨If you can´t ask her, wanna just extract that data?¨ Futaba suggested

Everyone raised an eyebrow

-¨Does she have a personal laptop or something?¨

-¨Don´t tell me¨

Futaba got out a usb driver ¨I can lend you a storage device with my special gimmick on it. Just stick this baby in, and it´ll clone the internal hard drive! It´ll even bypass the OS password! You´ll have to plug it directly into her laptop though, can you do it?¨

-¨Sis does bring her laptop home sometimes, but I´m not comfortable going that far¨ Makoto let out a sigh

-¨Ooh, is Futaba gonna do something amazin´ again?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Are you scared of seeing how your sister truly feels?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨No! Of course not¨ she frowned ¨ _Besides, pretty sure I know how she feels_ ¨ she thought ¨Fine, I´ll do it¨

After agreeing on that, Ren went back home, once in there, his phone ringed

 **Ann: These rankings are insane!**

 **Yusuke: Yes, if you look away for even a single moment, the order changes completely**

 **Ann: It´s hard to decide who to actually go after!**

 **Ryuji: They´re flooding in!**

 **Futaba: We can choose anyone we want!**

 **Yusuke: We should wait for now though. It will surely cool off soon, more importantly, how are things on your end, Makoto?**

 **Makoto: Sis isn´t home yet, she may not come back at all tonight**

 **Ryuji: Man, just think how great it´d be to narrow down our targets!**

 **Makoto: That´s true, but… Aren´t you guys taking this too lightly? All the pressure here rests on me**

 **Ren: Is there any way we can help you?**

 **Makoto: Not that I can think of, I suppose I´ll just have to do it on my own**

 **Ann: We have faith in you**

 **Ren: Gotta go guys, my brother just got here**

 **Ryuji: Say hi for me!**

Makoto put her phone away, she sighed

-¨He gets to see his brother despite his work, huh?¨ she looked at a photo of her and her sister ¨Sis, when was the last time we did something together? Then again, if might be better like that for you¨

* * *

Meanwhile, the Amamiya brothers were having some curry, Sojiro decided to give the brothers some privacy for them to talk

-¨So how is mom doing?¨ Ren asked

-¨You know, just working at school, nothing out of the ordinary, she says there are plenty of Phantom Thieves fans as well, so it´s hard to get them to focus, hell, even some of my colleagues talk about them, you could try to be more subtle you know?¨

-¨We do our jobs in the shadows, thank you¨

-¨And don´t worry, nobody knows that me and mom knows¨

-¨Thanks, I don´t want to put my friends at risk¨

-¨Speaking of friends, today I met your friend Yusuke, he seems nice and I can see he loves art with passion, pretty cool¨

-¨Yeah, although he is still hopeless when it comes to money¨

Hiro let out a chuckle ¨You don´t say? And what about Makoto? Made any progress?¨ he winked at Ren, he rolled his eyes

-¨Ha ha, very funny, no, I haven´t, plus, I am not sure how I feel¨

-¨Meh, can´t judge, I am not popular with the ladies myself, but if I can help you out in some way, let me know¨

-¨By the way, her sister is a prosecutor, does the name Sae Niijima sounds familiar?¨

Hiro put a hand on his chin ¨I think I faced her in one of my trials, not sure though, I will have to check, but talk about coincidence, you both are the younger ones and here us the older ones work in the legal world¨

-¨Yeah, but…¨ Ren frowned

Hiro got concerned ¨What´s wrong?¨

-¨Well, let´s just say their relationship isn´t precisely at their best right now, I still can´t get forget that she called Makoto useless and that she eats her life away, but after all of that, Makoto still admires her and wants to help her out, I feel bad for her¨

Hiro scratched the back of his head ¨Poor girl, you really care about her¨

-¨I wish there was something I can do to help them¨

Hiro shook his head in amusement ¨Always have to help, right?¨

-¨Like you are one to talk, you never lose faith in the people you defend at court, even with the ones that turned out to be guilty, you still believe they can be saved¨

-¨I do, everybody deserves a second chance, it may not change what they did in the past, but if they can be a better person now, it´s is something important¨

-¨Agree¨

-¨By the way¨ Hiro´s tone got serious ¨This Makoto girl¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨Well, I haven´t met her in person and I believe all the nice things you said about her, just… I don´t want the same that happened with Asumi to repeat¨

Ren´s body got tensed up ¨Makoto is not like her, I am sure of that¨

-¨Good, sorry to bring that up¨

-¨It´s fine, you are just concerned, I appreciate it¨

-¨Anytime bro¨

The brother kept talking and eating for a while, then Hiro went back to his hotel and Ren went to sleep, but on his way to his hotel, something began to bother Hiro

-¨Niijima… could it be?... Nah, must be a coincidence¨ he said to himself

* * *

 **9/2 Friday**

The following day, Ren was entering school, when

-¨Whaddup¨ Ryuji said ¨D´you see that ad in the train?¨

-¨What ad?¨

-¨The media´s gonna come to our school. At least be a little interested in it¨ he crossed his arms ¨Cover-up by faculty and principal of Shujin Academy, where the Phantom Thieves first appeared. It´s been a huge deal already, I wonder what´s gonna happen to the principal now. Anyways, we made the right choice goin´ after big targets! Everywhere I go, people´re talkin´ about us!¨

He began to walked into the school, but almost run into a girl with a light purple knitted sleeveless turtleneck sweater with a dark purple ribbon around her waist and white loose socks and a watering can

-¨Whoa!¨ he yelled

The girl looked down ashamed ¨I´m sorry!¨

-¨Oh no, I´m fine¨ the blondie clarified

The girl walked away

-¨That girl just now… Don´t you think she was fine? The Phantom Thieves are on fire right now, so I wonder if I got a chance if I asked her out…?¨

-¨I guess, I did say that there is someone for you out there, maybe she is the one¨ Ren said

-¨I know, but it sucks that I can´t just say I´m actually a Phantom Thief to anybody¨

The two friends walked inside

* * *

Later, Ms. Kawakami was walking down the hall, when

-¨Did you do it too, Teach?¨ one student asked her ¨The whole cover-up thing¨

The teacher frowned ¨This is the first time I´m hearing about it too! Even if the police ask you anything, you better not make irresponsible comments to them!¨ she looked down ¨Seriously, why does this keep happening? All my relatives are gonna call me again¨

Makoto came from the stairs

-¨Oh, perfect timing¨ Kawakami said

They walked away from the students to have some privacy

-¨I think you might´ve been told this already, but it´s about the school trip. You know how the police have been coming to the school again because of that incident? So a number of senior faculty are going to be called in for questioning and that day just happens to overlap with the school trip¨

-¨Yes, I´ve been told so¨ Makoto said

-¨Now, this came up at the faculty meeting, but the plan is to have third-years to act as our proxies¨ she smiled at Makoto ¨I´m so sorry to drop this on you, Niijima-san, but we´ll be counting on you¨

Makoto´s eyes went wide ¨What!?¨

-¨You know… A lot of the second-years this yean happen to be… unique and you must have your hands full with the entrance exams, but I´m sure you´ll be fine with your grades. Don´t worry. There´ll be a couple more people going besides you!¨

-¨If that´s the case, very well¨

-¨Really? Oh thank goodness! I´ll go ahead and pass this news on then¨ and with that, the teacher walked away

-¨ _I guess that works out, Ren would be going, so it would be boring without him)¨ Makoto thought and blushed a bit ¨(Wait, the others are going too, it would be boring without them as well_ ¨

* * *

Meanwhile, during classes, Ren´s phone ringed

 **Ryuji: You guys see!? Akechi showed up in the rankings!**

 **Yusuke: Perhaps it´s due to the negative comments he made about us**

 **Ann: Seems that way**

 **Ryuji: God, this is freaking amazing!**

 **Ren: I feel bad**

 **Ryuji: C´mon, you don´t gotta pity a jerk like him. By the way, how´s it going, Makoto? You get into your sister´s data yet?**

 **Makoto: I think she´s been busy. She didn´t come home at all yesterday**

 **Yusuke: That´s problematic**

 **Ryuji: What are we gonna do? We can´t do a damn thing till we get that**

 **Makoto: Don´t rush me. I assure you, I can handle this. More importantly, everyone at school has been on edge since that tabloid article, please be careful not to stand out, OK?**

 **Ryuji: You don´t gotta tell me twice**

* * *

Back at her home, Makoto saw her sister tipping on her laptop

-¨Looks like you are busy¨

-¨I´m listing up the evidence that´s been taken into storage. It´s a chore that any part-timer could do¨ Sae replied, eyes not away from the screen ¨I don´t have time to waste on something like this¨ she frowned sadly ¨It felt like my irritation would show on my face at the office, so I brought it home¨

-¨Sorry to hear¨

Sae grabbed the pinch of her nose ¨The Phantom Thieves case isn´t so easy that I could pursue it in my spare time. The media keeps making a ruckus about it, so people have been wary whenever we make inquiries. Why, I couldn´t get anything out of a man who seemed to have intel… I even tried threatening him¨

Makoto´s eyes went wide in shock ¨ _Threatening? You never did something like that_ ¨

-¨All I did was question him a bit harshly¨

-¨Oh, I almost forgot… I´ll be going on a school trip starting next week. The senior faculty are being questioned, so I´ll be going in their stead¨

-¨Sounds good to me. The school will owe you for it. It won´t get in the way of your entrance exams, will it?¨

-¨Not at all¨ it was time to put her plan into action ¨Fell free to take a bath first, I… need to study¨

Sae let out a exhausted sigh ¨Ok. I think I´ll do that¨ she got up and went to the bathroom

Taking this chance, Makoto plug the driver into the laptop, a guilty expression on her face

A loading bar showed up

-¨This should do it, right?¨ she asked herself

The bar began to loaded itself slowly

-¨Oh, Makoto?¨ Sae yelled from the bathroom

-¨Yes!?¨

-¨I want to change my toothbrush¨

-¨I-I bought a new one already! It´s on the shelf!

-¨Thanks¨

The bar was halfway through

-¨Hurry!¨ she begged

The sound of the water falling stop

-¨No way, already!?¨ she turned away from the computer ¨That was fast!¨

-¨I´m not really in the mood to relax in the tub¨

-¨It´s so close to being done too!¨ Makoto said to herself, the bar was at 85%, she got an idea ¨Oh, Sis!?¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨I bought a new bath salt. It´s on the same shelf, so would you mind putting it in the tub?¨

-¨Not al all¨

The bar was fully completed, meaning that the copy of info was done

-¨Yes!¨ she got the driver out and close the laptop

* * *

 **9/3 Saturday**

The following day, Ren phone ringed

 **Makoto: I got it**

 **Ryuji: What are you talking about this early in the morning?**

 **Makoto: I extracted the data from my sister´s PC**

 **Ren: Well done**

 **Makoto: I´m not entirely sure I did it correctly though**

 **Futaba: Oooh, I´ve been waiting for this! Gimme, gimme, gimme!**

 **Makoto: I have to head out to school right now though**

 **Futaba: Whoa! My bad! Bring it right after then, I´m gonna punish you if you´re lateee**

 **Ren: You sure know how to say ¨Good Job¨, Futaba**

* * *

The day at school went fast, after that, they met at Futaba´s room

-¨Here you go¨ Makoto said while handing the driver ¨I think I did it right¨

-¨Hehe, leave it to me¨ Futaba said and began to work

Meanwhile, Ann noticed the amount of pamphlets on the floor

-¨Whoa, you grabbed all these? Are they for Hawaii?¨

-¨If we´re gonna lay low, we might as well enjoy it¨ Ryuji said ¨Aww, look at this one! Gigantic sea-turtle sightseein´ on some beach¨

-¨Come on, food´s more important than some turtle. You really don´t find steak this big and thick in Japan! Also, mahi-mahi? Is that some kind of fish? Think it´s good?¨

-¨It seems that it´s the season for school all around. We´re going on our school trip as well¨ Yusuke informed

-¨Yeah? Where you guys goin¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I believe it´s Los Angeles¨

-¨Ahaha¨ Ann laughed ¨That doesn´t suit you at all, Yusuke! I bet you wanted to go somewhere like Nikko or Nara¨

-¨Anywhere is acceptable. Natural mineral pigments used for Japanese art was also originally imported¨

-¨So we won´t be seeing each other for a whiles Morgana said sad

-¨We´ll make sure to bring you a souvenir¨ Ann said

-¨Ooh, here comes some interesting data¨ Futaba said, they all gather around her ¨This is just from a quick glance, but it says perpetrated and connected¨

-¨It means that mental shutdowns aren´t coincidence¨ Makoto pointed out ¨That this is a case with a culprit behind it¨

Futaba frowned ¨Actually, it´s not just about people having shutdowns. Looks like she´s inferring that the psychotic breakdowns incidents are connected to the same case¨

-¨Go, Makoto´s sis!¨ Ryuji said

-¨How long do you think it´ll take to analyze all of it?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Hmm, there´s a lot, so it´s not happening overnight. But I´ll manage by the time you guys get back. I demand souvenirs from Hawaii and LA for my reward¨

-¨I don´t really get all this, but you´re amazing as always, Futaba!¨ Ann said impressed ¨I guess it´s called an information war? It´s so high tech and modern, it kinda reminds me of a movie¨

-¨We´re the Phantom Thieves, so it´s not that big a deal¨ Morgana said, somewhat angry and offended ¨I mean, I can turn into a car and stuff too¨

-¨C´mon, don´t try and compete with her¨ Ryuji said

-¨What did you say!?¨

-¨You´re fine the way you are Morgana¨ Ann said ¨Like, you´re cheeky cute?¨

-¨Cute¨ Morgana whispered, he hated that word ¨Lady Ann… I¨

-¨Welp, we´ll continue this when we get back from the trip!¨ Ryuji said ¨I can´t wait to see how much the Phantom Thieves´ popularity has increased by then!¨

* * *

Each went home, although

-¨What the hell¨ Morgana said surprised

Ren phone sounded

 **Makoto: Don´t forget to prepare yourselves for the trip, OK?**

 **Ryuji: You´re really sounding like a teacher right now, man. What´re you even saying that for?**

 **Makoto: Didn´t I tell you? I´ll be coming along**

 **Ryuji: What?**

 **Makoto: The teachers have asked me to chaperone the trip in their place**

 **Ryuji: Wait, what!? I didn´t hear a damn thing about that!**

 **Makoto: is there a problem?**

 **Ren: I´m glad we can go together**

 **Makoto: Yes, I was worried about how many troublemakers will be there**

 **Ryuji: Are you talking about us!?**

 **Ann: But why are they having you go at all, Makoto?**

 **Makoto: It seems some teachers have to stay behind to deal with that tabloid article, so they decided to get a couple of third-years to act as additional chaperones. It seems a few others besides myself will be going as well**

 **Ann: Oh, I see**

 **Yusuke: Either way, this overseas trip has been truly long-awaited. I expect leaving Japan will be a great eye-opener for us. This is a wonderful opportunity, so we should be sure to enjoy it**

 **Futaba: Don´t forget souvenirs!**

Ren put his phone away

-¨ _So Makoto is coming as well? Nice_ ¨ he felt a little excited for some reason

His train of thought was distracted by the presence of someone

-¨I seem to be making myself at home here once again¨ Akechi said ¨It´s been hard to find a place of comfort recently¨ he frowned ¨Things have blown up in my face ever since I criticized the Phantom Thieves, Sae-san even warned me to watch what I say to the public. I suppose their popularity is beyond my imagination… I should think more before I open my mouth. Well, I must be going, the coffee was delicious¨

* * *

 **9/6 Tuesday**

The days went on, and now, it was the night before the trip, Ren was washing the dishes

-¨That reminds me¨ Sojiro said ¨You´re leaving for Hawaii tomorrow, right? That´s enough help for today. Go on and head up to bed¨

-¨Have fun¨ Futaba said ¨I´ll make sure to work on you-know-what after I´m done taking a breather. By the way Sojiro, are people on probation even allowed out of the country?¨

-¨There´s no law saying they are not. As long as it´s fine by me, it´s fine in the eyes of the law. I mean, not letting a kid take part in school events probably wouldn´t be good for his rehab¨

-¨Huh… But if anything bad happens on the trip, it´ll be the school´s responsibility¨

-¨That´s right¨

Futaba looked at Morgana ¨Monaa, I´m gonna be your master from tomorrow on!¨

-¨Yeah¨ the cat replied with no enthusiasm

-¨Aren´t you gonna ask for any souvenirs from Hawaii? No hula doll or anything?¨

-¨No¨

Futaba frowned ¨Heyyy, Mona´s acting weird!¨

-¨Is something wrong Morgana?¨ Ren asked concerned

-¨No, nothing in particular¨

-¨Hey, don´t let the cat up on the counter, OK?¨ Sojiro said

The cat got off the chair and walked away

-¨Weird Mona¨ Futaba said

-¨Maybe he will just misses us¨ Ren said ¨Anyway, I´m going to sleep¨

-¨Good night and have a safe trip, enjoy the sun and find a proper place to kiss Makoto¨ the hacker said with a grin

Ren walked towards her and gave her a smack on the back of her head

-¨Ow!¨

-¨Now I can leave without the sensation that I left something undone¨ Ren said, Futaba tucked her tongue out

* * *

 **9/7 Wednesday**

After a night of sleep, Ren woke up, his suitcase ready, Sojiro walked into his room

-¨Don´t go cutting loose ´cause I´m not here to keep an eye on you¨ Sojiro said, but he was not angry

-¨I´ll miss you too¨ Ren said with a smirk

-¨Heh, I´ll look after Futaba and the cat while you´re gone. You owe me one¨ and with that, he left

Ren walked towards Morgana, who had its face away from him

-¨We´ll talk more about our next job once you get back¨ Morgana said, a bit angry

-¨I can´t wait¨ Ren said

-¨Good¨ and the cat began to walk away

-¨Take care, we´ll see each other soon¨ Ren said, but he got no answer ¨ _Morgana, what´s wrong? We can´t help if you don´t tell us_ ¨

* * *

He arrived to the airport, and was now talking to Ann and Makoto

-¨I´m so sleepy¨ Ann said

-¨It´ll take over six hours to get there, so why not sleep on the plane?¨ Makoto suggested

-¨I´ll do that¨

-¨It´s almost time to check in, I am going to use the bathroom quickly, can you guys keep an eye on my suitcase?¨

-¨Sure¨ Ren said

And Makoto walked away towards the bathroom and used it, but on her way back, she ran into a girl who was just getting up from her seat

-¨Oh! Sorry!¨ Makoto said

-No, my apologies, I was too focus on my book¨ the girl bowed

-¨Oh, all right¨ suddenly, something hit Makoto, the girl in front of her had long light blue girl and white eyes ¨ _Is that girl from the firework festival!_ ¨ she thought, although this time the girl was wearing a school uniform that consisted of a red t-shirt and a blue skirt and black carrete heels

-¨Is something wrong?¨ the girl asked

-¨N-no, it´s nothing¨ Makoto bend down and grabbed the book ¨Here it is¨

-¨Thanks, ummm¨

-¨Niijima Makoto, third-year student as well as Student Council President at Shujin Academy¨

-¨Akari Asumi, third-year student and I am also the Student Council President at Nobunaga Academy back at Yokohama, but we came to Tokyo in order to take the plane¨ Asumi let out a giggle ¨What a coincidence, two Student Council President, is your school going to Hawaii as well?¨

-¨Correct, we might run into each other there¨

-¨Maybe, we should exchange our experiences as presidents in our respective schools¨

-¨Sure¨

-¨Anyway, I better go back with my classmates, it was nice to meet you Niijima-san¨

-¨Same, have a safe trip¨

Asumi began to walk away

-¨Excuse me, Akari-san¨

-¨Yes?¨

-¨Does the name Amamiya Ren is familiar to you?¨

For a moment, an scowl appeared on Asumi´s face, Makoto noticed it ¨N-No, never heard of him¨

-¨All right, see you¨ and Makoto began to walk back to her friends ¨ _She reacted negatively to the mention of Ren´s name, plus there was Ren´s reaction back at the festival, what´s going on here?¨_ she thought, she reunited with the others, only this time, Ryuji showed up

-¨Hey there Makoto¨ Ryuji said

-¨Mishima just told us that they want us to gather near the boarding gate soon¨ Ren informed

-¨All right¨ she said

-¨Why don´t we take a group shot before we take off?¨ Ann suggested

-¨Ooh, sounds good!¨ Ryuji agreed, they started to gather ¨You be our cameraman, OK RenRen?¨

-¨Sure¨

Ryuji and Ann stood behind Ren, the later doing the peace sign, Makoto stood next to Ren, unsure as to where to look

-¨Here goes¨ Ren said

And he took the picture, but

 **Futaba: Ryuji, you´ve got crap in your eyes**

-¨What?¨ he began to clean his face ¨Holy shit, she´s right

-¨How could you tell, Futaba?¨ Ann asked surprised

 **Futaba: You surprised? I snuck an app on Ren´s phone. I can see all I want through his camera! You´re looking now, right Ren? Mwehehe. You can´t underestimate the original Medjed**

 **Ren: You are getting a smack on the head as soon as I get back, remove this app**

 **Futaba: T_T… Fine, as soon as you get back**

-¨Talk about a nasty trick¨ Ryuji said

-¨I am so glad she´s not an enemy of ours¨ Makoto said

* * *

 **9/8 Thrusday**

During the trip, Ren was watching through the window, Mishima was listening to some music while Ryuji was sleeping, the blondie rest his head on Mishimas shoulder

-¨Ack! Gosh!¨ he tried to push the blondie away

Ann ordered a drink while Makoto was reading a magazine

Ren caught sight of was down despite the distance, he could see a pure blue ocean and a little beach, as well as some building and lots of forest, he was stunned

-¨Huh?¨ Ryuji woke up ¨Whoaaa!¨

After landing and a boos trip, they arrived to their hotel

-¨Yes! We´re here! Hawaiiiii!¨ The blondie yelled excited

-¨I am SO embarrased¨ Ann said, remembering Ryuji´s behavior at the airport

-¨Is this the smell of Hawaii? Actually, I´ve been wondering since the airport, but what is this smell?¨

-¨Supposedly the lingering scent of carpet cleaner¨ Mishima informed ¨It´s coconut-scented, plus, I would say the scent of plumeria for the leis are amplifying the tropical atmosphere here¨

Ryuji frowned ¨What are you, the king of random facts!?¨

-¨I´m the type that likes to look up stuff beforehand¨

-¨Then tell me a cheap but good place to eat¨

-¨Do that after we´ve figured out room assignments¨ Ann said ¨We can´t go out until we get our keys!¨

-¨I wanna room with this guy¨ Ryuji pointed at Ren

-¨I have a name, you know?¨ Ren replied, somewhat offended

-¨You belong to a different class, Sakamoto-kun¨ Kawakami said as she and Makoto approached the group

-¨I can´t?¨ Ryuji asked disappointed

-¨It complicates roll call¨ Makoto said

-¨Everyone butts you out, after all¨ Ann said with a smirk ¨I bet there aren´t many people who´d be OK rooming with you¨

-¨Shuddup, we both stick out like a sore thumb, you know¨

Two female students showed up

-¨Takamaki-san, have you decided on which room to stay in?¨ one of them asked

-¨No, not yet¨

-¨In that case, how about rooming with me?¨

-¨And if it´s OK with you, do you want to walk around together once we´re free to go about?¨ the other student asked ¨We´ve never gone overseas before, so we thought it´d be reassuring if we had someone who knows English¨

-¨Oh, sure, of course!¨ she winked at the others ¨Well, see you guys later¨ and she walked away with her friends

-¨C´mon, can you just hurry up and make your decision?¨ Kawakami asked

-¨Then, is it OK if I room with you?¨ Mishima asked Ren

-¨That´s fine¨ Ren replied

-¨It´s decided then¨ Mishima was happy, he and Ren went to get their rooms

* * *

After sorting things out, Ren and Ryuji met with Makoto and Ann at the beach

-¨So this is Waikiki!¨ Ann said while looking at her surroundings

-¨There sure are tons of people here¨ Ryuji pointed out ¨And… a lot of tall buildings, like hotels¨

-¨It´s a little too clean here. It feels like an artificial resort¨

-¨Still, look how clear the ocean is¨ Makoto said ¨The palm trees definitely give off a tropical vibe too¨

Ryuji looked around ¨I thought Ann was pretty impressive, but compared to the foreign ladies… eh¨

-¨Then stop looking¨ the model said raged

-¨ _Somebody is getting jealous_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨You think so too, don´t you RenRen? Like, these ladies are massive, unlike the girls in Japan!¨

Ren looked around ¨I guess so¨ he said, although he was not precisely interested

-¨Moving on¨ Makoto said changing the topic ¨Take a look over there. Isn´t that Diamond Head?¨

They looked to the volcanic tuff cone

-¨Ohh, I saw it from the bus too!¨ Ryuji said ¨But why´s it called that? Are diamonds a local product?¨

-¨Wouldn´t it say online?¨ Ann suggested

They took out their phones

-¨Wait, people long ago mistook volcanic rock for it? The eff?

-¨Might as well look up recommended places in Waikiki too¨ Ann suggested ¨Oh right, I wanted to eat pancakes¨

-¨I wonder if there are any online recommendations of scenic spots¨ Makoto wondered

-¨We should check for cheap and popular restaurants then¨ Ryuji said

-¨Hey, we´re on our phones and chatting. This is no different when we´re in Japan¨ Makoto pointed out

-¨Even if we are overseas, we can see all the news in Japan if we got our phones¨ Ryuji said, somewhat disappointed ¨it´s like… this ain´t what I was expectin¨

-¨We should do something that´s more Hawaii-like¨ Ann suggested

-¨What´s… Hawaii-like?¨

-¨Hula dancing?¨

-¨I ain´t down for that¨

* * *

The day went on as they tried to figure out what to do, once the night hit, they went back to the hotel, Ren and Mishima were in their room

-¨We can finally take a breather¨ Mishima said ¨Oh, by the way, you know how the polls for the Phan-Site ranking´s started, right?¨

-¨Yeah¨ Ren replied

-¨It´s been really lively, huh. I´m the one who made the website, but even I´m surprised. I can´t believe I´m part of such a huge thing! I´m so glad I´ve been rooting for the Phantom Thieves! On the contrary, did you hear about Akechi, that detective against the Thieves? The good-looking one. His popularity plummeted after Medjed was dealt with. Supposedly his official blog´s up in flames, he posed as some hero of justice, but that´s what he gets for not seeing eye to eye with them¨ he got up from his bed ¨To be blunt, I can´t focus on this trip. I keep thinking about the Phantom Thieves, don´t you think about them too¨

-¨Sure¨ Ren said in a monotonous tone

-¨You sure are calm. Something this amazing rarely happens, you know?¨

-¨ _You do remember I am a Phantom Thief, right?_ ¨

-¨But then again, I think I´m feeling a bit tired too. Let´s go to bed. Good night¨

* * *

 **9/9 Friday**

The following morning, Ren, Ann and Ryuji were at the hotel´s lobby

-¨Man, it´s nothing but Japanese people ´round here¨ Ryuji said, little disappointed ¨I thought we were gonna be getting alohas comin from all directions and stuff!¨

-¨It costs money to enjoy that atmosphere, you know¨ Ann said ¨There´s not much we can do as students¨

Makoto joined them

-¨I guess it´s the same no matter where we go¨ she said somewhat tired

-¨What´s with the low energy, Makoto?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I just had to listen to the taxi driver complain for thirty minutes straight. I´m used to dealing with students´ troubles, but I never expected to have to do it overseas as well¨

-¨That must have sucked¨ Ann said

-¨We should be doin some more excitin stuff! I mean, we are in freaking Hawaii for god´s sake!¨ Ryuji yelled ¨Isn´t the school supposed to plan stuff? I wanna go divin!¨

-¨It seems there wasn´t enough time to come up with any kind of coordinated travel plan. That lack of coordination is what led them to using students as chaperones as well¨ Makoto said

-¨By the way Ren, you´re rooming with Mishima, right? How is it? Anything interesting?¨

-¨All Phan-Site, all the time¨

-¨Even in Hawaii?¨ Ann asked surprised

-¨Phan-Site…¨ Ryuji said ¨Y´know, I do hear people talkin about the Phantom Thieves every so often¨

-¨Are they really mentioning us?¨ Makoto asked

-¨I think so!¨ a huge smile appeared on his face ¨We´ve already made our international debut! Man, just talkin about that makes me wanna go back to Japan so bad!¨

Ann face palmed ¨You really have no chill¨

-¨Come on, let´s try and forget about those things for now¨ Makoto suggested

Something caught everybody´s attention

-¨But people are waiting for us to fix society! We don´t got time to be relaxin over here!¨ Ryuji kept on, until he looked to his right ¨Ain´t that right, Yusu…¨ his eyes went wide ¨Wait, what the hell?¨

Yusuke was standing next to him

-¨Overseas travel provides a great opportunity for new insight¨ the artist said ¨I´d prefer we stay here a bit longer¨

-¨What are you doing here!?¨ Ann asked

-¨Wasn´t your school supposed to be going to Los Angeles?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Apparently they couldn´t land the plane due to a terrible storm brewing on the west coast. There were no signs of it letting up, so our destination was changed on the spot to Hawaii¨

Ryuji dropped his head ¨Do you just bring rain wherever you go!?¨

-¨Could it be that what happened at the fireworks festival was his fault as well?¨ Makoto wondered

-¨Don´t go bringing any storms here, you got that?¨ Ann said

-¨I´ll do my best¨ the artist replied

-¨By the way, there´s nothing planned after this¨ Makoto said ¨What are you all going to do?¨

-¨Uh… Oh yeah¨ Ryuji said ¨I still gotta buy souvenirs. My mom asked me to grab some stuff for her¨

-¨I totally forgot about that!¨ Ann said ¨We need to pick things up for Futaba and Morgana too¨

-¨I was hoping to do some shopping myself¨ Yusuke said

-¨Then it´s settled¨ Makoto said ¨I wonder what Morgana would want¨

-¨Something to cheer him up¨ Ren said ¨he´s been acting off lately¨

-¨Man, our group´s totally the same even outta Japan¨ Ryuji said

* * *

They went to a shopping district

-¨Huh, I didn´t realize Big Bang Burger was in Hawaii too¨ Ann said, referring to the chain of fast food restaurants

-¨Yeah¨ Ryuji agreed ¨it´s been getting real popular in Japan lately. I guess they wanted to branch out¨

-¨Now that you mention it¨ Makoto said ¨I read a news article recently about the success of Okumura foods¨

-¨Ah yes, the company that owns Big Bang Burger¨ Yusuke clarified

-¨Okumura?¨ Ryuji asked ¨Ain´t that the guy who´s at the top of the Phan-Site rankings?¨

-¨Is that true?¨ Makoto asked

-¨I guarantee it. I don´t make mistakes about that kinda stuff¨

-¨Sure you don´t¨ Ren said

-¨Do I hear sarcasm?¨

-¨No¨

-¨And now?¨

Yusuke noticed that Makoto was deep in thought ¨What´s the matter?¨

-¨Oh, it´s probably nothing, just a rumor I heard about Okumura foods. Supposedly, all of their overseas competitions has mysteriously pulled out¨ she shook her head ¨Never mind, I´m surely overthinking things. Sis´s habits seems to be rubbing off on me¨

-¨Hey, why don´t we take a pic together!?¨ Ryuji suggested ¨Y´know so we can remember the trip and all!¨

-¨Ooh, good idea!¨ Ann agreed

-¨I can take the photo¨ Ren offered

-¨Are you sure you don´t want to be in it? Thanks¨ Makoto said, touched by Ren´s consideration, He took the photo and then they headed to a convenience store near the beach

* * *

-¨Don´t you think the food ´round here´s kinda salty?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨You might be right!¨ Ann agreed, but she frowned ¨Oh, shoot! I forgot to go buy another bottle of sunscreen at the convenience store¨

-¨I´ll go with you¨ Makoto offered

And they left

They asked around some question regarding the Phantom Thieves, until they found a girl sit on her own, so they approached her

-¨Ah…¨ the girl said while looking up from her phone ¨Free time is almost up. Shouldn´t you be heading back soon?¨

-¨Are you a Shujin student?¨ Ren asked

-¨That´s right¨ she looked at Ryuji ¨By the way, your blond friend seemed very excited on the airplane coming here¨

Something hit Ryuji ¨Hey, you´re the girl we saw watering the plants!¨

-¨Sorry to surprise you. I´m another third-year who was asked to chaperone this trip. I accepted the task to take my mind off of things, but I wasn´t sure how to spend my free time¨

-¨We´re here!¨ Ann yelled as she and Makoto were returning, the girl got up from the bench

-¨I… I think I should be going. See you¨ and she left

-¨Sorry, were you waiting long?¨ Ann asked

-¨Hm, that girl you were talking to just know?¨ Makoto said ¨Do you know her?¨

-¨No, that was my first interaction with her¨ Yusuke said ¨She said she was a third-year. Same as you, Makoto¨

-¨Mh-hm. I´ve never really spoken to her though¨ she checked the time ¨It looks like our free time will be over in a few minutes, we should be heading back¨

Ren remembered something ¨Oh yeah, I have to check out something at a craft shop, you guys go on ahead¨

-¨Want us to accompany you?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Nah, I won´t take long, don´t worry¨

-¨All right, but hurry¨ Makoto said and she and the others went on

Ren went to the craft shop; he was talking to the owner

-¨Ah, I see what you want¨ the owner said, Ren was showing him an image of something with his phone

-¨Can you have it done by tomorrow afternoon at most?¨ Ren asked

-¨No problem kid, I'll show you just how good I am, come here by that time¨

Ren clenched his fist in excitement ¨All right, thanks a lot¨ he walked out of the store, but he stumbled upon someone

-¨S-Sorry¨ a girl said

-¨No, it was¨ he recognized who it was ¨Asumi!?¨

-¨Ren, long time no see I suppose¨ Asumi replied with no emotion

-¨R-Right¨ Ren replied, feeling somewhat uncomfortable

Makoto showed up ¨Ren, what is taking you so long? Kawakami-sensei is asking for you and¨

Asumi recognized her ¨Niijima-san!?¨

Makoto´s eyes went wide ¨Akari-san!?¨

Ren was surprised ¨Wait, you two know each other?¨

-¨We met back at the airport¨ Makoto said ¨What are you doing here?¨

-¨Just merely buying one last souvenir, that is¨ she looked at Ren with scowl ¨Until I ran into him¨

-¨Wait, I thought you said you didn´t knew each other?¨

-¨Well, I wish that was the case, but sadly, is not ¨

Makoto was getting angrier ¨What do you mean by that?¨

-¨It´s fine Makoto¨ Ren said, looking down at the floor, his body all tensed up

-¨No it´s not fine, she is clearly making you uncomfortable¨

-¨You call her Makoto? Isn´t she your Student Council President? Why you refer to her like that?¨ Asumi asked Ren

-¨Because I am his friend, student council president or not, I won´t tolerate you talk to him like that, what has he done to you?¨

-¨Hmph, it does not matter, but let me tell you this Niijima-san, you better cut your ties with him, trust me when I say you that you are better without him, all the time I wasted on him¨

Now Makoto was pissed ¨I don´t care what you have to say, I know him for who he is, someone who has helped me in so much and I am not going to stand here and let you talk to him like that!¨

Asumi looked disgusted and shocked at Makoto´s attitude ¨Why do you care about a delinquent like him? You want to go to college do you? You won´t get any recommendations if you hang out with someone like him¨

Makoto walked closer to Asumi, her red eyes filled with rage ¨I want to get into college but not at the expense of losing my friend, now, apologize to him!¨

-¨You really are stupid, how much do you think you know him?¨

At this point, Makoto gave her a glare that would make the Reaper shit on itself

 **-¨MORE THAN YOU DEFINITELY!¨**

Asumi took a step back, getting scared

 **-¨YOU MADE THE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT ROLE LOOK BAD, NOW, GET AWAY FROM HIM!¨**

Now Asumi was terrified, she looked at Ren one more time ¨You sure know how to choose your friends Ren, I pity you two¨ and she walked away

-¨I can´t believe it¨ Makoto said, still outraged at the situation

Ren looked down at the floor ¨M-Makoto¨

She looked concerned at him after calming herself down ¨Ren¨

-¨I…¨

He began to ran back to the hotel, not looking at her

-¨Ren, wait!¨ she called, but no answer

* * *

Back at the hotel, Kawakami noticed Ren coming back

-¨Look who decided to show up and¨ but before she could finish, Ren ran past her and headed to his room ¨What the hell!?¨

-¨Kawakami-sensei!¨ Makoto said

-¨Niijima-san, what´s wrong with Amamiya-kun?¨

-¨It´s a long story, but please don´t be mad at him¨

The teacher sighed ¨Fine, he did looked bad, but he better explain himself¨

-¨Thanks¨

And the teacher left

-¨Yo Makoto¨ Ryuji said as he and Ann approached ¨What happened to Ren? He ran without noticing us¨

-¨We ran into that blue-haired girl from the firework festival¨

Everybody´s eyes went wide

-¨Did she say or do something?¨ Ann asked

-¨I don´t have the details myself, but she was clearly making Ren uncomfortable, and also insulting him¨

-¨What the hell? What´s wrong with her?¨

-¨I don´t know, but I did gave her a piece of my mind, but after she left, Ren just ran away¨

-¨Is he gonna be OK?¨ Ann asked

-¨I don´t know, but let´s give him some space for now, it won´t be good if we suddenly bomb him with questions¨

The others nod in agreement, deciding to wait for now

* * *

The night fell, they were all eating at the dining hall, it was here where they could sit with anyone from any class

-¨Any news?¨ Makoto asked as she sit down

-¨No, nothing!¨ Ryuji said worry

-¨He is not answering mine or Ryuji´s messages¨ Ann added worry as well

Mishima showed up

-¨Hey, guys¨ he said

-¨Mishima-kun, hello¨ Makoto said

-¨Ren´s not coming?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨No, he is just looking at the horizon in the balcony, he does not talk to me, did something happen?¨

They explained what they knew of the situation

-¨So this girl did something to him?¨ he asked angry

-¨That is what it looks like, but we lack information¨ Ann said

-¨We should go check on him¨ Ryuji suggested

-¨Good idea, would you go Niijima-senpai?¨ Mishima suggested

Makoto was confused ¨Do you think I can do something?¨

-¨You have a better understanding of the situation than any of us after all¨ Ann said

-¨All right, I am going, don´t worry, I will help him¨

-¨We are counting on you¨ Ryuji said

Makoto went towards his room, hoping that she can help him

* * *

Ren was standing on the balcony of his room, a can of grape Monta on his hand, looking at the ocean, the sound of the waves hitting the shore, until he heard knocks on the door

-¨Ren? Is me, Makoto, are you OK?¨

No answer

-¨Please Ren, I am worry, we don´t have to talk about what happened, but at least come to eat¨

Ren let out a sigh and opened the door

-¨Hey¨ she said somewhat nervous

-¨Hey¨ Ren said and walked towards the balcony

An awkward silence filled the environment, Makoto just fix her hair

-¨Ren, I…¨

-¨I´m sorry¨ he whispered

-¨Huh? Pardon me, I did not catch that¨

-¨I said I am sorry¨

Makoto slowly walked towards him and place a hand on his shoulder, he turned his face and she saw that they were dried tears on his face

-¨Ren!¨ she yelled worry ¨What´s going on?¨

No answer

-¨Please, I won´t tell anyone, you can trust me¨

Ren let out a sigh ¨As you probably know, Asumi is the Student Council President back at my old school, right?¨

She nod

-¨Well, we do have some history, she was not my girlfriend or anything before you ask, but she was indeed my friend, or at least I thought she was¨

-¨What do you mean?¨

-¨Well, my family and I have our reputation back in my town, mostly due to my father, he is probably the worst person I have ever met, he is…. A criminal¨

Makoto´s eyes went wide in shock ¨What!?¨

-¨He abandoned my brother, mother and me when we were little, and 3 years ago, he committed a crime and got sent to prison, haven´t visit him in a long time, not that I wanted, Hiro neither, did not even defend him at court, but we have been fine without him¨

Makoto frowned ¨What a horrible person. What did he do?¨

Ren remained quiet

-¨Sorry, you don´t have to answer that, but what does this have to do with Asumi?¨

-¨Once word got out that he was sent to prison, life got harder for us, many of my friends abandoned me, except… Asumi¨ he let out a sigh ¨When I started first year at high school, Asumi was the first person to talk to me and became my friend, the first person not to judge me for my father´s crime, I was happy, but…¨

-¨But?¨

-¨Asumi´s family is quite important in my town, they have high standards too, so I was a bit surprised that she hanged out with me, but at that point I did not care, even when people were saying that she had pity on me or anything¨ he clenched his fist ¨But when my arrest happenned, she did not showed up, never visited or tried to call me, but I brushed it off as she was busy, despite what people said, I trusted her, and the one time I managed to see her, she acted like she did not know who I was, even when I tried to give her what I thought it was her favorite flowers ¨

Makoto got angry ¨ _How can she do something like that?_ ¨

-¨I found out that the only reason she hanged out with me was to look good on college applications, think about it, help the son of a criminal, also, my brother is a bit famous, so that too as well¨

Makoto could not believe what he was telling her

-¨You know how I found out?... She told me, did not tried to deny it, in fact her words were¨ tears formed in his face ¨I was using you¨

Makoto gasped in terror

-¨I….. Devastating is short to describe this¨

-¨Remember when you tried to blackmail us back with the whole Kaneshiro thing?¨

Makoto looked away, ashamed of that

-¨I was not distant because of being angry, I was distant because¨ tears began to fall **¨I THOUGHT YOU WERE USING ME AT WELL!** ¨

Makoto took a step back, stunned at the declaration

-¨I thought you were like her, just using me, but… after how you stood up for me, I felt so bad for just even thought about it that I ran¨

-¨Ren¨

He wiped the tears from the face ¨I´m sorry¨

There was no answer, nothing, until

Makoto kiss him on the cheek and wrapped him in a hug

-¨M-Makoto?¨

-¨I never tried to use you, I regretted what I did immediately, but I am happy that you still forgave me, this might sound silly, but you were the closest thing to a friend I had back then¨

-¨I was the closest thing to a friend you had?¨

-¨Yeah… Not everybody wanted to hang out with a rule abiding honor student, you know?¨

Ren felt bad ¨Sorry, at least I had a friend¨

-¨That was not a friend Ren, just someone who hurt you, but…¨ she looked at him ¨I´ll never hurt you or hide stuff from you, not after how much you did for me, you are very important to me, so please, don´t hide stuff from me, I get worry if you do¨

Suddenly, all of Ren´s sadness and pain disappeared, he smile and returned the hug

-¨Thanks Makoto, I promise I won´t hurt you either and keep secrets from you or make you worry, from now, 100% honest¨

She let out a giggle ¨Good, same here, RenRen¨

Ren laughed a bit

He began to look at her face, for some reason, he couldn´t stop

-¨W-What?¨ she asked with a blush

-¨N-Nothing, I just thought you had something, but I was wrong¨

Unbeknownst to them, somebody entered

-¨Um, Ren?¨

They turned their heads to the source of the voice

-¨Mishima-kun?¨ Makoto said ¨How did you get in here?¨

-¨Well, this is my room, so I have the key, it´s just¨ he looked at the floor

-¨What is it?¨ Ren asked

-¨Well, it´s just¨ he scratched his head awkwardly ¨If all you wanted Ren was to be alone with Niijima-senpai, all you needed to do was tell me and I would have left¨

-¨Huh?¨ Both said in unison, until they noticed they were still hugging, their face turned crimson as they broke

-¨It wasn´t¨ Makoto said ¨We weren´t¨

-¨N-Nothing like that was happening Mishima¨ Ren added

-¨Um, right, anyway, Ryuji and Ann are worry for you and so do I¨

Realization hit Ren, he grabbed his head ¨Oh shit, I better go talk to them, let´s go¨

And the trio went to the dining hall

-¨Ren!¨ Ryuji said surprised

-¨You OK?¨ Ann asked

-¨Yeah, listen…. I have something to tell you¨

Ren explained his story with Asumi and his father, but he chose to not tell about his hug with Makoto

-¨Holy shit!¨ Ryuji said stunned, but then he got angry ¨I can´t believe she used you like that¨

-¨It´s sickening!¨ Ann added, angry as well ¨How can someone like her be Student Council President?¨

-¨Beats me, nobody else wanted the job?¨ Ren joked ¨But that is not important, I hide my past from you guys, after you all trusted me with yours, I am a shame of friend¨ he looked down, but Ryuji put a hand on his shoulder

-¨Hey, it´s OK, you never judge us, no matter what we did, so why would we do that?¨

-¨Ryuji´s right, besides, that kind of stuff is not an easy one to talk about, so don´t worry¨ Ann added

Ren was shocked to hear this, but he went for a hug to the two ¨Thanks guys, you really are good friends¨

The blond duo patted him on the back

Makoto smiled happy at this, she looked at Ren

-¨Thank you¨ he whispered at her

Makoto blushed

He broke the hug ¨Well, I am hungry, I need something to eat¨

-¨We´ll go get you something, plus, I am still a little hungry myself, so I´ll grab something as well¨ Ryuji said

-¨You are still hungry?¨ Ann asked surprised

-¨Look who is talking, how many desserts have you eaten so far?¨

-¨Shut up!¨

And they walked away while arguing

-¨How do you feel?¨ Makoto asked him

-¨Really better, I still have to talk to Yusuke, but I´ll wait till tomorrow, I want to rest¨

They began to heard sobs, it was Mishima

-¨Mishima-kun?¨ Makoto asked confused

-¨It´s just… It´s just too unfair… you suffered so much… But no matter what that girl says, you are my best friend¨ he went and hug Ren, although this one was more tightening ¨I´ll never leave you alone¨

-¨OK, Mishima, you are also a good friend¨ Ren said as he patted him in the back ¨Thanks for everything¨ he tried to separate from him ¨Mishima, I think that it´s enough¨

-¨No, not yet!¨

Ren tried to broke from this hug, while Makoto facepalmed

After eating, they all went back to their rooms

* * *

-¨There are even more posts now¨ Mishima said while looking at his phone ¨Oh, wow!¨

-¨What is it?¨ Ren asked

-¨The president of a company called Okumura Foods is rising very quickly up in the rankings!¨

-¨We are on a trip, you know?¨

-Come on, you can´t let this chance pass you by! It´s rumored that Okumura Foods exploits their employees. Stuff like underpaying staff to reduce labor costs. That´s how they have so many stores¨

Someone knocked the door, Mishima opened it, it was Ryuji

-¨Yo¨ he said

-¨Why are you here?¨ Mishima asked

-¨Just hear me out! The guy I´m roomin with went and brought his girlfriend back to the room! I felt totally awkward stayin in there with them. I´m just gonna sleep here tonight¨

Another knock, this time it was Ann

-¨The girl I was sharing a room with took off to her boyfriend´s room¨

-¨I know that feelin¨ Ryuji said

-¨Yeah, it really is surprising the coincidence¨ Ren whispered with sarcasm

-¨And she took the key!¨ she added ¨I stepped outside for just a second and the autolock kicked in! I can´t get back in my room!¨

Ryuji let out a yawn ¨So sleepy. I´m feelin pretty pooped. You think this could be that jet lag thing?¨

-¨It´ll be too much hassle for me to go anywhere else¨ Ann said ¨I´ll just sleep in here tonight¨

Everybody´s eyes went wide

-¨Wait, what? I dunno if that´s a good idea¨ Ryuji said

-¨Are you serious?¨ Ren asked

-¨Don´t worry, I trust you guys¨

-¨I saw that one coming¨ Ryuji said

-¨Really? I never see it coming¨ Ren said

-¨There are only two beds¨ Mishima pointed out ¨Even if someone sleeps on the sofa¨

-¨One of us gonna have to sleep on the floor¨ Ryuji deduced ¨So who´s gonna be that?¨ he noticed a deck of cards ¨Oh hey, playin cards. Why don´t we use these to decide?¨

They played a game, which Mishima won, Ren got second, so he got the sofa

-¨I´m all the way in Hawaii, and I´m stuck sleeping on the floor¨ Ryuji complained ¨Hey, where´d Mishima go?¨

-¨He´s in the bathroom¨ Ann said

-¨Ain´t he been in there a while?¨

-¨The school trip¨ suddenly, Ann got depressed ¨Shiho was really looking forward to this¨

-¨Ann¨

-¨Sorry. I didn´t mean to bring the mood down. But it´s already been almost six months since then, hasn´t it? This all feels so strange¨

-¨Right? Hard to believe the rowdy kids at school are now famous all over the world¨

A grin appeared on her face ¨Don´t you think we still have a lot to learn about each other though? You know, things like what kind of people we like… So, time to come clean, Ryuji¨

-¨Me!? Uhhh, well… She´s gotta have a good personality. I´m OK with anyone who´s modest and nice¨

-¨What about if two girls with equally good personalities confessed to you at the same time?¨

-¨If they´re equally nice? Then it´d hafta be the one with the hotter bod¨

-¨So looks are what´s most important to you¨

-¨What!?¨

-¨Your first answer was just superficial. The second answer was your true beliefs¨ she got somewhat disappointed ¨Huh, so you really are that kind of guy¨

-¨That ain´t fair¨

-¨ _Just start dating already_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨What about you, Ren? C´mon, spill the beans. What kind of girl is your type?¨

But before he could answer

-¨C´mon Ann, like that ain´t obvious?¨ Ryuji mocked

-¨Oh yeah, you are right, it is pretty obvious¨ Ann mocked as well

Ren rolled his eyes ¨Really guys? You bring Makoto to this conversation?¨

-¨We didn´t, you did¨ both said in unison

Ren realized what he did and turned red ¨Well, you got it wrong¨

-¨Oh really?¨ Ryuji asked ¨What was going to be your answer?¨

-¨One who´s really smart…. Shut up!¨

The blondes laughed

-¨Well, we answered honestly¨ Ryuji said

-¨ _We?_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨it´s your turn next Ann¨

-¨S-Someone¨ Mishima groaned from the bathroom ¨My stomach¨

-¨That doesn´t sound good¨ Ann said worry

-¨Y´know, wasn´t he drinkin the tap water earlier?¨ Ryuji asked ¨That´s like, the one thing you´re not supposed to do when you´re outta the country¨

After helping Mishima, they all went to sleep, except for Ren, he was struggling with something

-¨ _I feel really better thanks to Makoto, she is the first one that I ever told that¨_ he remembered all the moments that they went through together, studying, eating together, faking to be a couple, the almost kiss at the palace, her kissing him in the cheek, their hugs, he touched his cheek _¨I know that kiss was only to make me feel better, but… I like how much she did for me, I like her passion for justice and doing things right, I like her little obsession with Buchimaru-kun, I like when she is happy, I….. Like her_ ¨

He let out a sigh, it was clear, he was in love

Makoto was in her room, she couldn´t sleep

-¨ _I am happy that Ren is better, but why am I so nervous?_ ¨ she remembered all they went through, studying, faking to be a couple, eating together, their almost kiss at the palace, her kissing his cheek, their hugs ¨ _I just kiss him as a way to make him feel better, but, I like that he shared something so deep with me, I like how much he has done for me, I like being with him, I like when he is happy, I… Like him?_ ¨

She let out a sigh, it was going to be a long night

* * *

 **9/10 Saturday**

The following morning, Ren was talking to Yusuke, telling him about Asumi and his father

-¨What a horrific person¨ Yusuke said outraged ¨I´m sorry you had to go through that¨

-¨Don´t worry, I should be apologizing for hiding something that deep from you¨

The artist shook his head ¨Don´t apologize, I have no reason to be angry with you, as you probably remember, we didn´t start with the right feet, but you never abandoned me or any of us, I am just glad you are better¨

Ren felt relieved ¨Thanks Yusuke; I hope we can keep working together in the future my friend¨ he offered a handshake, which the artist accepted

-¨The pleasure will be all mine¨

And they both part ways, Ren met with Ryuji and Mishima

-¨Our trip is almost over¨ Mishima said ¨By tomorrow night, we´ll be in the airplane heading home¨

Ryuji scratched his head annoyed ¨Dammit, this isn´t how stuff was supposed to go!¨

-¨What do you mean?¨

-¨We ended up walkin around same as always do in Japan. I mean, we even ate at freaking Big Bang Burger! It´s like we never left!¨

-¨Whine all you´d like, but that´s what the trip was supposed to be¨

-¨But weren´t some other guys getting all cozy with their girlfriends or some shit?¨

-¨I think¨

-¨Then that´s it! That´s what this trip is missin! C´mon, we totally gotta get movin during our free time in the afternoon¨

-¨What are we going to do?¨

-¨Make a once-in-a-lifetime summer memory!¨ a perverted smiled appeared on his face ¨Hawaii´s famous for its beaches, and y´know… what happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii! We can get some girls´ numbers durin the day, then sneak away to ém at night! You in or what?¨

-¨Me too?¨

-¨It´ll be great! Neither of us have girlfriends who´d get mad at us about it either!¨

Mishima signed nervously ¨I guess that it´s true, but…¨

Ren phone ringed

-¨Oooh, you get a message? Who could that¨ something hit him ¨Uhhh, actually, you don´t gotta answer that. It might be something about you-know-what. C´mon Mishima, let´s go!¨

The duo left, Ren went to his room to check who it was, it was Makoto

 **Makoto: I´d love to go for a walk on the beach. We´re in Hawaii, after all. I can finally take a break from my job too. If you don´t have any plans, would you like to take a walk with me?**

Ren´s heart began to beat faster;

- _¨I had come to terms with how I truly feel regarding her, but how does she feel?_ ¨ then he remembered something ¨ _I have to pick up that after all, so this might be the chance to clear things up¨_

He typed his answer

Makoto was sitting on the bench, until she got Ren´s answer

 **Ren: Let´s do it**

A smile appeared on Makoto

 **Makoto: Really!? Thank you!.. Should I wear a swimsuit? Well, see you later!**

Ren got nervous, _¨Swimsuit? This clearly is not my day¨_

* * *

Makoto was a bit nervous; she was not entirely sure how she felt, she shook her head ¨We are just going to take a walk; friends do that all the time, dammit, curse my inexperience on these matters¨

She saw Ren coming up; she got up from the bench

-¨Sorry to ask you out here so suddenly¨

-¨It´s fine, sorry if I made you wait¨

-¨Being a chaperone is more difficult than I expected. I´ve had a lot of meetings. I honestly wanted to contact you earlier, but this is the first dree moment I´ve had¨

Ren noticed that she had black bags under her eyes ¨Did you sleep bad last night?¨

-¨Oh, well, yes, we have a problem with a few students, nothing too worrying¨ she lied, not wanted to say that she couldn´t sleep due to him ¨I am fine¨

-¨Let´s enjoy this then¨

She smiled ¨That sounds lovely. All right then, let´s take a walk¨

They walked through the beach for a while

-¨The ocean sure is blue here, makes me want to swim¨ Ren said ¨Do you want to swim a little?¨

-¨No, I´m fine¨

A very bad idea cross Ren´s mind ¨OK, hey, what is that?¨ he pointed at something far away

Makoto looked in that direction ¨What is what?¨

He took this opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist, catching her completely

-¨R-Ren, what are you doing?¨ Makoto said as she struggle to release from him, face red as tomatoes, he began to go towards the ocean ¨Let me go¨

-¨You´ll never see it coming!¨ he yelled as he began to suplex her and himself into the water

-¨Kyaaaaaaaaa!¨

Splash

Both got under the water, after a few seconds, Ren got out, his whole body soaked

-¨Got you!¨

Makoto got her head out, totally furious

-¨It was not funny!¨

-¨Hey, you left your guard down¨ the probationer kept laughing

-¨ _Oh really?_ ¨ Makoto devilish smiled, taking this opportunity, she grabbed Ren by the arm and make him trip into the water

-¨Woa!¨ he yelled

Splash

Makoto raise her hands while shrugging ¨You asked for¨

Ren got out of the water ¨It is on¨ he tackled her

-¨Agh!¨

Splash

They kept throwing water at each other while laughing, having lots of fun

-¨Ready to surrender?¨ Makoto asked mockingly

-¨You wish¨ he tackled her once more, this time he landed on top of her, putting his hands on her shoulder, breathing heavily ¨Guess I got you¨

-¨Y-Yeah¨ she breathed as well

They kept staring into each other´s eyes, their faces red due to the blood rushing to their cheeks

-¨Um, let me help you¨ Ren helped her to get up

-¨O-Oh, thanks¨ she got up ¨T-That was fun¨

-¨Yeah¨ they looked away from the other ¨Wanna keep walking?¨

-¨Sure¨

They got off the water and kept walking, ignoring the situation they were in, until

-¨Oh, a food stand¨ Makoto said, the stand had a logo of a shrimp with garlic ¨Garlic shrimp? I´ve heard that´s a famous Hawaiian dish¨ she looked at Ren ¨Are you… adventurous when it comes to food?¨

-¨Yeah, sometimes, I like to experiment when I am making curry¨

-¨That´s amazing, I always just stick with the standard fare. Well, let´s give it a try¨

-¨You two from Japan?¨ the owner of the stand asked

-¨Yes, we are¨ Makoto replied

-¨How bout them Phantom Thieves, huh? The guys that steal hearts!¨

Makoto gasped surprised ¨How do you know about them?¨

-¨Heard about it on the news! They´re all rage in Japan, yeah?¨

-¨Seems like we´re even making headlines abroad¨ she whispered to Ren

-¨Say, if y´run into em, tell em I say hello. And ask em to change people´s hearts so everyone loves shrimp!¨

-¨O-Of course, I´ll do just that¨

The owner gave them a heaping pile of extra shrimp, they were huge

-¨They are bit heavy¨ Ren said, holding a dish of shrimps in each hand

-¨That´s amazing¨ Makoto said surprised

They took a sit at a nearby bench and began to eat

-¨Delicious¨ Makoto said

-¨I know, I might have found a new ingredient for my curry¨ Ren said

Makoto raised an eyebrow ¨Shrimp on a curry dish? Are you sure about that?¨

-¨Hey, don´t underestimate me, I´ll find a way, just watch¨

-¨I look forward to that¨ she stopped eating

-¨What´s wrong?¨

-¨Are you feeling better? You know, considering yesterday¨

-¨I am, a huge weight got off my shoulders, thanks again for helping me¨ he smiled at her

-¨Thank goodness¨ she sighed in relief

They kept eating their food; until, Makoto let out a yawn

-¨Somebody is sleepy¨ Ren said

-¨I know, but we are going to bed soon, so no worries¨ she said, but eventually sleep beat her and rest her head on Ren shoulder

-¨Huh?¨ Ren looked at her surprised, but he saw how peaceful she looked ¨I should let her rest, she works a lot¨

And so, he kept eating while Makoto sleep

Time pass by, the sun began to set, colouring the sky with a shining orange

-¨Ngh¨ Makoto began to open her eyes

-¨Hello there¨ Ren said with a smirk

-¨Huh?¨ Makoto then realized that she had her head resting on her shoulder, she quickly separate from it ¨Oh, I am so sorry, it was so inappropriate of me, I did not drool or anything, right?¨

-¨Don´t worry, nothing happened¨

-¨G-Good, still, I should have asked first at least¨

-¨It´s fine, you were tired, I don´t mind¨

She looked at the sky ¨How beautiful¨ she checked the time ¨Oh, it´s already so late. My sister would be upset if she saw me laid back like this¨ she stretched her arms ¨To tell you the truth, I wasn´t particularly eager to go on this trip. But if it´s like this… I think I´d like to come again¨

-¨ _I´ll make it happen_ ¨ Ren thought ¨It´s been fun¨

Makoto smiled ¨Yeah¨ she got something out ¨Um… I´d like you to have this¨

She gave him a keychain with a wooden tiki, perfectly craft, dignifying yet warm, it reminded him of her

-¨Thanks, I´ll never lose it¨

-¨It´s not the best souvenir… but it will remind you of the memories we made today¨

-¨They are great memories¨

-¨Thank goodness¨

-¨I have a gift for you as well¨ He got up ¨I´ll go to look for it, be right back¨

And he left, after a few minutes; he came back with something behind his back

-¨Close your eyes¨ Ren said

She did so, and he place something on her lap

-¨Huh?¨ she said surprised

In her lap there was a wooden model of a BMW R 100 RS, perfectly crafted as well and it was even painted with grey paint

-¨I know it´s not Johanna exactly, but I hope you like it¨

-¨Ren…¨ she said, not believing how much he did for her once more, it was really touching, she hug her gift ¨Thanks you very much, I´ll always treasure it¨

-¨I am glad to hear that, it will also remind you of what we have done so far, because…..¨ He smiled at her ¨I´m really happy that I met you Makoto¨ It was how he felt, at least a part of it

Makoto´s eyes went wide at that revelation, he was happy that he had met her, she saw the sincerity on his eyes, and could not help but to smile back

-¨I am happy that I met you too Ren, hope we can always see each other¨ she checked the time ¨Well, we should probably return before it gets dark¨

-¨Just a little longer¨ Ren said

-¨I suppose I can´t complain about that¨ she let out a fake yawn ¨Hey, do you mind if I…. rest my head on your shoulder? I am still a little tired¨

-¨Not at all¨

And she did so

The two of them basked in the stunning Hawaiian sunset, nothing but peace

But unbeknownst to them, something will happen, a true so terrifying that would crush them, specially Ren, who will wish that this moment could last forever

* * *

 **And that´s the end of that and hoo boy lots of stuff happened, let´s sum it up:**

 **1) Futaba started her work at the gym, and pulled a move to join our two heroes, plus we got her confidant, but only we have team confidant as Ren and Makoto will help her along the way**

 **2) Hiro´s first appearence, how he cares for his brother and knows about the thieves, and he might or not have face Sae at court before, be ready for him because his role will be huge**

 **3) The trip at Hawaii and holy shit, lot happened, Ren´s past was revealed regarding Asumi and Makoto stood up for him and learn more and our lovebirds share many moments in the beach with exchanging gifts, I actually planned to have them kiss for the first time but not yet, I thought of that scene already and it will be huge**

 **4) Ren´s past has been revealed or at least part of it, does this mean it is the end for his suffering? Ohhohohohohhooho NO!, it is only the tip of the iceberg, trust me, it will be devastatin and will put his relationship with Makoto in the edge of destruction, specially since the following arc is Haru arc and well, she is not the only one with father issues, although Ren´s would be worse**

 **Finally, we have passed the 22000 views people, holy shit, I can´t thank you enough for all of your support, specially for the previously mentioned writers, all of you and many more make writing this worth, if I can make you happy with this fic, then it´s more than enough, Thank you for your encouragement and hope we can keep this up together**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any reviews or comments of PM and I would gladly answer**

 **See you next time**

 **Peace**


	16. AUTHOR NOTE: IMPORTANT

**Hello my friends, how have you been ?**

 **I know it has been quite a while (8 months) and I am really sorry for that, I had lots of pressure at college and family, due to being my senior year, but I manage to graduate finally and now I am looking for a job so I really don't feel like sitting and writing (I have a new chapter at 50 percent done)**

 **Speaking of writing, here is the reason of this note**

 **As I am sure you all know, we had got lots of info regarding P5 Royal (which is awesome, new scenes, areas to explore, new character, combo attacks, all looks cool, I am already iching with excitement)**

 **But hence the question**

 **Do you all want me to still writing Two Thieves, Two Students, Two Lovers ? Because we have to start considering P5R as the new canon for P5 and there is no way I can add that into my fic, considering the point in the story I am already in, so my idea is to delete this story, wait till P5R is out in english (which will be sometime in 2020) and then re start with a new fic featuring all new stuff as well as my own personal elements, or I could keep writing this, even though it might be a waste since we have a whole new game to take into account**

 **So, what is your opinion? Do you want me to keep writing or do you want me to just re start fresh once I beat P5R ? Let me know in the comments ort through PM, I ll wait till May , 9:00 PM in Argentina to make my decision**

 **As always, thank you all for reading, and I´ll see you all…. At some point**

 **Peace**


	17. Rise from the Ashes

**Special thanks to my friend Ariel ( ariel25897 on twitter) for his tremendous help with this cahpter, stop by his twitter and give him a huge thank people**

 **And also thanks to my friends Tesla-Rolex and JostineKyok14**

 **And now, let´s go**

* * *

 **9/10 Saturday**

After saying goodbye, Ren and Makoto went to their respective rooms

-¨It was terrible getting dragged around by Sakamoto all day¨ Mishima complained ¨Do you think I´ll have to go through this on future school events as well?¨

Ren patted him on the back ¨You´ll survive Mishima¨

-¨Th-Thanks? I guess I didn´t exactly turn down the invite either¨ he sighed ¨I don´t know… It´s fun hanging out with Sakamoto, but he might be too different from me, is getting a girlfriend my only way out of this situation?¨

-¨I think you are exaggerating¨

-¨Anyway, we need to wake up early tomorrow, let´s get some sleep, OK?¨

And the duo went to sleep,

* * *

 **9/11 Sunday**

the following day; the gang was reunited, ready to return to Japan

-¨The school trip is finally coming to a close¨ Makoto said and smiled a bit ¨I never thought I would have the chance to go on the one this year as well¨

-¨It barely even felt like I was outta the country though¨ Ryuji said, somewhat disappointed

-¨Even Yusuke showed up¨ Ann pointed out

-¨I´m simply glad the storm didn´t make its way over here¨ Yusuke said

-¨It might not have been the most exciting trip, but we still had a good time¨ Makoto said and looked at her wooden motorcycle that was on her hands

-¨Honestly though, I´m thankful we didn´t have to deal with the storm. They are truly dreadful¨ Yusuke said

Ryuji looked at Ren ¨So, what´d you end up doin yesterday? You keeping secrets from me again? That´s against the bro code!¨

-¨I was with someone¨ Ren said, blushing a bit

-¨Wait, what!?¨ the blondie exclaimed ¨Was it a girl? Who was it?¨

Makoto got alarmed

-¨Wait, don´t tell me Ren, I rather not to get beat up by her if she finds out you are telling us this¨

-¨T-That´s enough you guys¨ Makoto said changing the topic ¨It´s almost time for us to leave¨

-¨It felt like this trip went by in a flash¨ Ann said ¨I´m not sure if I want to go home or stay here longer at this point¨

-¨I´m ready to head home and get back to work!¨ Ryuji said excited

-¨Yes¨ Yusuke agreed ¨It would be best for us to gather clues on that case sooner rather than later, correct?¨

Ryuji clenched his fist ¨Yeah! People´re totally waitin for us to take action!¨

The other let out sighs or shook their heads in disapproval

* * *

They headed to the airport and did the check-in, now they have to wait for the plane to arrive

-¨I should have taken more pictures, you know?¨ Ann said, she was talking to Makoto ¨At least I got lots of shopping done yesterday¨

-¨I am happy for you Ann¨

-¨By the way, what did you do yesterday?¨

-¨Oh, nothing special, just took a walk¨ she drank her bottle of water

A grin appeared on Ann´s face ¨So, you enjoyed your time with Ren?¨

Makoto spit her drink ¨Cough, cough, what? How did you?¨

-¨Well, both you and him obviously did not hang out with me or any of the guys, so there is only one possibility¨

Makoto blushed a bit ¨Well, yes; we walked together and ate some shrimp¨

-¨Awwww, that´s adorable¨ she noticed Makoto´s wooden motorcycle ¨Hey, that looks neat, where did you get it?¨

-¨Well…..¨

Realization hit Ann ¨Oh my god! He gave it to you, didn´t he?¨

-¨Is not a big deal, I also gave him a tiki keychain as a gift, friends do that all the time¨

-¨Makoto, he is clearly into you, I mean, that was probably the reason why he went to that craft shop, he got a designed gift just for you¨

-¨He is not, we are just pretending¨

-¨Well, either he is taking the ¨pretending¨ too seriously or he is into you, I mean, flowers, this gift, him telling you about that Asumi girl, does it really look like pretending to you?¨

-¨I…¨ she remembered Ren´s word from yesterday

¨ **I am happy that I had met you¨**

-¨ _I don´t know, I mean, I like him….. I think?_ ¨

-¨Are you all right?¨ Ann asked

-¨I just… need some time¨

-¨Don´t worry, I will respect whatever you decide to do¨

-¨Thanks Ann¨

Makoto remembered yesterday events, resting her head on Ren shoulder while the sun was setting on the horizon

-¨ _That was only the moment, plus, why would he be interest in me in that way? I am the one who betrayed his trust once_ ¨

* * *

They all board the plane and where on their way to Japan, Ryuji, Ren and Mishima sat on the same line

The blondie stretched his arms ¨Man, so much for once in a lifetime summer memory, yesterday was terrible¨

Ren smirked ¨What, did you run into the Shinjuku dudes?¨

Ryuji began to sweat with fear ¨Don´t mention them! What if they suddenly showed up at the airport?¨

Ren chuckled and drink his juice

-¨Huh?¨ Mishima was confused ¨What are you talking about?¨

-¨Nothing!¨ Ryuji took a deep breath ¨So, RenRen, how was the beach with Makoto?¨

Ren spit his drink ¨Cough, cough, how did you?¨

-¨Well, you said you were with someone, and it was definitely not us and Ann told me she went shopping with her roommate and another girl from your class, so it´s not that hard to figure out¨

Ren let out a sigh ¨We just went for a walk and ate some shrimp, nothing more¨

-¨That´s it?¨ Ryuji asked, somewhat disappointed

-¨Were you expecting more?¨

-¨Dude, you have this girl on her swimsuit and on top of that, the one you might or might not be interested in, and you expect me to believe you did not have some thoughts?¨

Mishima raised an eyebrow at that

Ren began to remembered Makoto on her swimsuit and boy, seeing her on a bikini once was hard, seeing her twice was even harder, her beautiful body bathed with the sun highlighting all her assets, legs, belly, her butt, especially the last one, as if her thief costume did not that already, but no matter what she wore, she always look beautiful and elegant at the same time, and not only that, everything about her made him feel happy, whether her passion with justice or something as silly as her favorite panda, at first he was not clear why he was so attracted to her, but ever since he come to terms with his feelings for her, it was hard to keep his composure

Ren shook his head to dispel those thoughts and said ¨We are just pretending¨

-¨Pretending ? But she kissed you¨ Mishima said

Both Ren and Ryuji´s eyes wide upon hearing that

-¨Whaaaaaaat!?¨ Ryuji yelled, everybody looked at him for a few seconds

-¨Quiet¨ Ren whispered, luckily, the other students did not pay that much attention to them and went back to their own things, now the probationer glared at Mishima ¨Mishima, when exactly did you entered the room when I was talking with Makoto two days ago?¨

-¨Well, I got in there just in time to see the kiss, I was stunned at first, did not know you were dating, but after I composed myself, I interrupted you two¨

Ryuji grin at Ren and elbowed him ¨You sly dog¨

Ren´s face was as red as Ann´s thief suit ¨it was on the cheek¨

-¨For real?¨ the blondie looked at Mishima, who nodded in confirmation

-¨Plus, that was only to make me feel better¨ Ren added

-¨A hug would have done the same¨ Ryuji pointed out

-¨I agree¨ Mishima said

-¨Look, we are just pretending, she is the one who said so¨ Ren said

-¨Well, either you are taking the ¨pretending¨ part too seriously or you want some more, I mean, flowers, the kiss, you telling her about that Asumi girl, the wooden motorcycle¨ Ryuji said but

-¨How do you know about that?¨ Ren interrupted

-¨Well, you went to a craft shop and suddenly, she has that thing after she spent a day with you, I am not that stupid¨

-¨So you are admitting that you are bit stupid?¨ Mishima asked confused

-¨No, I mean, look, the point here is this, Ren, are you sure you want to keep pretending?¨

-¨I…¨ he would normally say that they are pretending, but the truth is ¨No, guys, I…. really like her¨ he buried his hands on his face

Ryuji patted him on the back ¨It´s all right dude, now all you have to do is tell her the truth¨

-¨I can´t do that, she is not interested on me on that way, I might as well enjoy the pretending while it last¨

-¨Come on, you owe it to yourself¨

-¨In case you two have forgotten, I am the ¨criminal transfer student¨, I don´t want my reputation to affect her negatively¨

-¨Hey, I know all those rumors are bullshit, Makoto knows all those rumors are bullshit, so I hardly think she would mind if it affects her in a bad way¨

-¨I…..¨ he let out a sigh ¨I just need some time, OK?¨

-¨Sure, no pressure¨ Mishima said, to which Ryuji nodded

-¨Thanks guys¨ Ren said

Rem began to remembered being alone with Makoto, she resting her head on his shoulder, the sun setting on the horizon

-¨ _That was only the moment, besides, why would she be interest in me in that way? She is way out of my league anyway_ ¨

The fly went on, nothing in particular happen while they were on the air, but

In another plane, there it was Asumi

-¨ _That girl_ ¨ she thought, referring to Makoto Niijima, the one who she had that dispute with the other day ¨ _Who does she think she is? Talking to me like that? Damn you Niijima_ ¨ and realization hit her ¨ _Niijima… could it be_ ¨ a sinister smile formed on her face ¨ _(This is interesting)_ ¨

Meanwhile, back at Japan, Principal Kobayakawa was drying the sweat from his face and let out a sigh, the light changed to green, signalizing that he could move, he began to cross the street, until, he suddenly stopped and dropped his tissue, he grabbed his chest, feeling intense pain and groaning too, his eyeballs turn inside, pupils no longer visible, he dropped his hand from his chest

The light changed to red

-¨Hm?¨ a nearby officer noticed the principal standing on the middle of the street

The vehicles began to move, a truck turn right and saw Kobayakawa not moving, the principal barely look at the upcoming danger, blood falling from his mouth, the hunk began to sound before

* * *

 **9/12 Monday**

Once back in Tokyo, Ren entered into Leblanc

-¨Yo, welcome back¨ Sojiro greeted him ¨You get tanned a bit?¨

Ren looked at his body ¨I don´t think so, I used sunscreen after all¨

-¨How was Hawaii?¨ Futaba asked

Ren made a gesture with his index and thumb ¨Aloha¨

Futaba sighed a bit ¨He´s been influenced¨

-¨Eh, I can understand why¨

-¨While you guys were off having fun, things here have gotten a bit more problematic¨ Morgana said

The image of red black shirts, snickers and more merchandising with the Phantom Thieves logo showed up on the TV, the host began to talk ¨So, I´ve heard the surprisingly hot items at the moments are mask and calling cards?¨

-¨Here is a graph of the profits for stores handling these items¨ a woman showed said graph

-¨Double from the last year!?¨ the host asked ¨Phantom thief goods seem to be in especially high demand¨

-¨I didn´t know they sold that kind of stuff¨ Futaba said

-¨Should we try too?¨ Sojiro asked ¨I mean, selling Phantom Thief merchandise¨

-¨Like Phantom Thief Curry?¨ Ren suggested

-¨Maybe I´ll toss some dry ice on the side. Y´know, give it that phantom-y effect¨ the owner of Leblanc chuckled

The room went quiet

-¨Uh, I´m just joking, all right?¨

-¨I wonder how our guests consider this recent phenomenon¨ the woman from the show said

-¨What do you think, Akechi-kun?¨ the host asked

-¨Well¨

-¨There he is, the anti-thief detective¨ Futaba said ¨I hope he slips up and self-destructs¨

-¨I can sense some chivalry behind their actions. They are clever to take the silent resentments of the public into account and relieve them. I believe that may be the secret to their popularity¨

-¨Well this is surprising¨ the host said ¨Your stance seems to have softened¨

He got somewhat sad ¨This doesn´t change the fact that they are dangerous. However… No, I shouldn´t say more¨

-¨Come on, you can say it¨

Akechi laughed a bit ¨Oh no, I won´t be falling for that. I´ve learned my lesson after the previous backfire¨

-¨These thieves are more popular than the police or politicians¨ Sojiro said ¨What´s the world coming to?¨

-¨Oh, I almost forgot¨ Ren said and began to search through his luggage ¨I have gifts for you¨ he got out a bag of coffee beans and gave it to Sojiro

-¨Hawaiian coffee, huh? Thanks¨

He put a flower necklace around Morgana´s neck

-¨Here you go¨ Ren said

-¨Thanks, it doesn´t look that bad¨

-¨And for Futaba¨ he gave her a keychain that have a palm tree

-¨So cliché¨ the hacker said disappointed

-¨Hey, I´m gonna go to the bathroom. Take care of any customers that show up¨ and the boss walked away

-¨Oh, that´s right, I have another gift for you Futaba¨ Ren said

Futaba smiled ¨I knew it, give me, give me, give me¨

And he did gave her a gift, a smack on the back of her head

-¨Ow!¨

-¨I warned you, that´s what you get for sneaking apps on other people´s phone without their consent¨ he took out his phone ¨Remove it¨

-¨Grrrr, fine¨

-¨Good, I….¨ he grabbed the back of his neck ¨I have something to tell you two¨

-¨What is it?¨ Morgana asked

-¨If it is going to be another smack on my head, I´ll gladly pass¨ Futaba said annoyed

-¨No, it´s not that¨

-¨I know, it has to do with what you talked about with Makoto, regarding your father, right?¨

Ren´s eyes went wide ¨How did you?¨ then something hit him and grabbed the bridge of his nose ¨What did you do?¨

-¨Ever heard that one action is worth a thousand words? Well, sometimes you have to listen to the thousand words; I snuck an app that allows me to hear conversations nearby your phone, so I hear what you talked about with Makoto¨

Ren frowned a bit ¨Futaba¨

-¨If it makes you feel any better, I can choose which conversations to heard, I was curious as to what you were doing, so Morgana and I listened to it¨

Ren looked at Morgana ¨You let her do that?¨

-¨I was curious, all right?¨

Ren sighed ¨Anyway, I am sorry that I hid that from you¨

Futaba shook her head ¨No problems¨

-¨Really?¨

-¨I actually admire your mother, raising two kids on her own, it reminds me of my mom, so it´s fine if you did not want to talk about your past, I am no one to judge, although if I ever meet that Asumi girl, I am gonna kick her ass¨

Ren was surprised to hear this, he smiled ¨Thanks Futaba, you too Morgana¨

-¨No worries¨ the cat said

-¨And besides¨ Futaba grinned at him ¨I heard some good stuff, what was it again? Thanks Makoto, I promise I won´t hurt you either and keep secrets from you or make you worry, from now, 100% honest, right?¨

Ren facepalmed ¨Of course you did¨

-¨It was a good choice of words¨ Morgana said

-¨Agree, perfect romantic situation, I would definitely animate it¨

-¨Yeah, call A-1Pictures, they will help¨ Ren said ¨But that´s about it¨

-¨Come on, really?¨ Sojiro said as he returned form the bathroom ¨You were in Hawaii of all places and you did not made a move after something like that?¨

-¨Wait how did you?¨ Ren said, but ¨You heard as well, right?¨

-¨If I can´t keep an eye on you, I might as well listen to it¨

-¨Of course, we only went to the beach and¨ he turned red ¨She rest her head on my shoulder, I gave her a personalized gift and I told her that I was happy that I met her¨

Futaba laughed out loud, while Sojiro whistled

-¨Not bad at all kid, I might have underestimated you¨

-¨Please, it was only the moment, there´s no way she is into me¨

-¨But you like her, don´t you?¨ Futaba asked

-¨I…. I do, a lot¨

-¨Alleluia!¨ Sojiro said ¨Until you admitted it, now all you have to do is tell her¨

-¨No,no, no, definitely no!¨

-¨Come on!¨ Futaba said

-¨Kid, if you let this go, you´ll regret it the rest of your life¨

-¨I know, but... I just can´t, we are only pretending to be a couple, she is the one who said so¨

-¨And are you happy like that?¨

-¨I…¨ he shook his head ¨No, I am not, I just don´t know how to, I never did something like that¨

Sojiro sighed ¨You really did not have a positive male role model as you grew up, right?¨

The trio threw him a dirty look

-¨Really Sojiro?¨ Futaba asked

-¨Right, sorry, I forgot who your father is, anyway, don´t make things hard and you will be all right¨

-¨Thanks¨

-¨Now go to sleep, you seem exhausted¨

And he did so

* * *

Meanwhile, Makoto was at her house, studying, until her sister entered

-¨Hey, sis¨ Makoto greeted her

-¨You just got back from your trip and you´re already studying? How diligent¨

Makoto smiled a bit ¨I have souvenirs for you¨ of course, she made sure to hid the gift Ren gave her, because if Sae where to find out that a boy gave Makoto a gift (even if there was nothing between them) she wouldn´t stop until having his head on a silver platter

Sae frowned ¨The principal of Shujin Academy passed away¨

Makoto stopped writing; her smile disappeared; now there was a shock expression on her face, tal about killing the mood

-¨He suddenly stopped while crossing the road and was struck by a large vehicle. Death by external trauma. They say suicide seems to be a strong possibility¨

-¨Principal Kobayakawa committed suicide!?¨

-¨But would someone about to kill themselves try to go to the police station? He even used a taxi to get there¨

-¨Do you mean… this might be another incident?¨

-¨Even if he had a sudden shift in his state of mind… it´s still unnatural. I can only suspect that he had a change of heart¨

-¨Are you saying he was targeted by the Phantom Thieves!?¨ she shook her head ¨But that´s impossible!¨

Sae looked directly at her sister ¨How are you so certain?¨

Makoto realized her slip ¨W-Well, in prior cases, the changes of heart seemed to be done to make people confess their crimes. It´s hard to explain, but this incident seems contradictory to their usual modus operandi¨

-¨Did Principal Kobayakawa seem any different to you lately?¨

-¨I don´t really know. He rarely contacted the students, after all¨

-¨I see…Could something have happened during the school trip?¨ Sae whispered to himself, but ¨Ah, you´re studying. I´m sorry to bother you¨

She turned around, but ¨Makoto¨

-¨Hm¨

Sae shook her head ¨Never mind. It´s nothing. Just don´t get dragged into trouble, OK?¨ and the elder Niijima walked away

-¨This is bad… I´d better tell the others¨

* * *

 **9/13 Tuesday**

The following day, there was an emergency assembly at the school auditorium, the students murmuring among themselves regarding the principal, a teacher walked in

-¨Ahem… We will now begin the emergency morning assembly. As many of you may already know… Principal Kobayakawa passed away yesterday¨

The students began to gossip, wondering if the suicide part was real, the teacher continued talking

-¨The principal had been working hard to restore peace ever since the incident with Mr. Kamoshida. He only wished for everyone to be able to lead a normal school life, and because of that love¨

-¨Love? Bullshit. He was covering something up. Everyone´s been talking about it¨ a male student whispered

-¨Maybe it wasn´t suicide… Do you think the Phantom Thieves took him down!?¨ another student whispered

-¨The Phantom Thieves? Do they kill people?¨ a student asked

-¨I mean, Kamoshida did say he was gonna kill himself to make up for everything he did¨

-¨That would be amazing! Either way, it serves the principal right!¨

-¨Hell no¨ Ryuji whispered to Ren and Ann, annoyed at what the other students were saying ¨We didn´t do jack shit¨

-¨Are people gonna blame us for this too?¨ Ann asked worry

The teacher kept talking

-¨I would like to see everyone live up to our late principal´s wishes as proud Shujin students, and…¨

Makoto sighed, the principal might have been total shit, but she still felt bad for him

* * *

Time began to moved fast, Ren was now in a dark room, his face covered with bruises, Sae standing in front of him, a worry expression on her face

-¨I had noticed traces of tampering. Does that mean you truly took the data from my laptop? No matter how I think about, that would´ve been impossible, unless Makoto was helping you. But… she would never do something so foolish¨

-¨ _Oh, now you suddenly care for Makoto ? Don´t make me laugh_ ¨ Ren thought bitterly

Sae shook her head ¨And is it true that you were completely uninvolved with the Kobayakawa case?¨

-¨We had nothing against him¨

Sae sighed ¨What does this mean? But I suppose targeting someone at Shujin again and actually taking their life would be nonsensical¨

Ren was surprised to hear this ¨That´s right¨

-¨I have no reason to believe everything you´ve said¨

-¨ _Ah, there is the skepticism I got to like_ ¨ Ren thought with sarcasm

-¨However, it seems you aren´t the type of person who would lie just to protect themselves. I will acknowledge what I must. It´s more efficient that way¨

-¨Thanks, I guess¨

-¨In any case, let´s move on the topic at hand. If you saw my investigation data, you would´ve had the same suspicions I did about Okumura. And if you looked into his Palace, you should´ve seen the answer to those suspicions¨ she leaned closer, her furious glare aimed at him ¨Tell me. What did the Phantom Thieves do to Okumura? What did you learn from him? Why did it turn out as it did? I need you to tell me everything¨

Ren looked down; he began to reminiscence, a sad look on his face

* * *

 **9/13 Tuesday**

Back in the present, the gang met at Ren´s room

-¨Before we talk about the data we got from Sis, we need to discuss the incident with the principal¨ Makoto said

Ann got worried ¨People are already talking about it online¨

Ryuji shook his head ¨Nobody´s saying it´s cause of the Phantom Thieves… so far¨

-¨People think he did it because that tabloid exposed how he was covering up Kamoshida´s abuse¨ Yusuke said

-¨Could it be that…¨ Ann said ¨We´re responsible for Principal Kobayakawa´s suicide?¨

-¨Whaddya mean?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨If we hadn´t changed Kamoshida´s heart, maybe this never would have happened¨

-¨But then Kamoshida woulda kept doing what he did if we didn´t go and take him down¨

-¨There´s a lot of opinions online¨ Futaba said while tipping in her computer ¨It´s only natural that he died¨ ¨Covering up crimes is wrong¨

-¨The comments I´ve seen are similar as well¨ Yusuke added ¨Only the Phantom Thieves are on our side!¨ ¨I wish the Phantom Thieves would take down the police and the politicians of this country!¨

Ann grabbed her head ¨It´s not just the news. There´s even Phantom Thieves merchandise now. I never expected we´d end up such a big deal¨

-¨It seems like the public would rather believe in us than in the adults¨ Yusuke pointed out, unsure of how to feel ¨People are trying to get the Phantom Thieves to solve societal problems, not just personal ones¨

Ann shook her head ¨This is kinda scary¨

-¨Are we really doing the right thing?¨ Makoto asked

-¨I mean, the principal was covering stuff up, right?¨ Ryuji said ¨I guess… he got what was comin to him¨

-¨That´s¨

-¨Whoa, guys, let´s get back on topic¨ Morgana said ¨Weren´t we going to discuss the data we obtained from Niijima?¨

-¨Good thinking, we need to change the topic for now¨ Ren said

The others exchanged looks

Futaba frowned sadly ¨You tell them, Inari¨

Yusuke got confused ¨Why me?¨ Yusuke got up and walked towards the laptop and began to read the information ¨First, Prosecutor Niijima has been into the continued cases of people suddenly collapsing. Some parts seem to be speculation, but she has cited a beneficiary of the majority of these incidents¨

Everybody´s eyes went wide

-¨The corporation Okumura Foods. More prominently, it´s CEO, Kunizaku Okumura¨

-¨Okumura?¨ Ryuji asked ¨I feel like I´ve heard that name somewhere¨

-¨From Big Bang Burger¨

-¨Big Bang Burger!? For real!?¨

-¨You know, they only got famous sometime in the past few years¨ Ann pointed out ¨They even had a branch in Hawaii¨

Yusuke kept reading the information ¨It says here they benefited both from scandals and the resignations of their competitors´ executives¨

-¨That would seem to be the case¨ Makoto said

-¨This is too suspicious though¨ Morgana said ¨Only one CEO is profiting from these seemingly accidental incidents. I think it´s natural to suspect he´s intentionally causing them¨

Makoto looked down ¨I get that, but still¨

-¨We have even more evidence than that. Tell them, Futaba¨

-¨I already tried putting Okumura´s name in the Nav. He has a Palace for sure¨

-¨Well, that settles it then!¨ Ryuji said ¨He´s totally our next target!¨

-¨That´s right¨ Morgana agreed ¨Okumura is at the top of rankings, after all¨

-¨Hold on¨ Yusuke interrupted ¨That doesn´t necessarily mean he´s evil. If we jump into this too carelessly. Beyond that, this Phantom Thieves fad is… unsettling¨

-¨Yeah¨ Ann agreed ¨The excitement levels don´t feel normal. We might want to let things calm down a bit first¨

-¨You too Ann!?¨ Ryuji asked, no believing this ¨You´re just gonna go against what people want!?¨

-¨Huh? No, but¨

Ryuji saw that the others were feeling the same

-¨For real?¨

-¨L-Looks like we´re not gonna agree today then¨

Ren decided to speak ¨Look, let´s take a couple of days to collect our thoughts and¨

-¨Sheesh… some team you are. What´s with all the hesitation?¨ Morgana asked irritated ¨I can't stand this. Even you Ryuji! You just back down the second someone disagrees with you!¨

-¨What?¨ the blondie asked angry

-¨I guess all you´ve been talking about is using the Phantom Thieves name to pick up girls anyway. Being hyped up because popularity is fine, but getting conceited over it is unacceptable¨

-¨Hey, aren´t you actin for your own benefit here too?¨

The cat hissed ¨My appearance might have changed, but I´m still an admirable human! At the very least, I´m more admirable than some carnal blond monkey!¨

Ryuji clenched his fist ¨You little!¨

-¨No, what you are being Morgana is a hypocrite¨ Ren said

The cat look at his owner shocked ¨What?!¨

-¨I told you before, nobody here is useless, and sure, we may have doubts about what to do, but we had them about previous targets before and we managed to solve them, but just because you don´t like that it does not mean that you can start insulting your friends, or diminish their work, your damn obsession with being human is only clouding your mind, and you forget what it is really important, I won´t stand for that¨

The cat clenched his teeth and remembered what happened at the beach

-¨Well, she was more useful than you, as a matter of fact¨

He shook his head ¨I´m going to show you who the useless one actually is! I can take a small target like Okumura by myself!¨

-¨All right then! Bring it on!¨ Ryuji taunted him

-¨Ryuji, stop!¨ Ann yelled

-¨Well, this is goodbye!¨ the cat turned around, ready to leave

-¨Morgana, you are not thinking straight, just tell us what it is really happening to you¨ Ren said

The cat ran away

-¨Morgana!¨ Ann yelled

-¨Leave him, I bet he is back in no time¨ Ryuji said

* * *

Morgana was running down the street, until he stopped and took deeps breaths

-¨I´m human…. I have to be… All right, I´ve managed by myself before, and I can do it again now. I just need to take down Okumura before those guys do!¨

He kept running, crossing with a girl that was walking on the opposite direction

-¨Huh? That kitty?¨

* * *

Meanwhile, there was certain prosecutor who had her own share of problems

-¨I can´t believe this¨ Sae said ¨The public believes in the justice of the Phantom Thieves. They have no interest in that principal¨

Her companion, Akechi, sighed ¨I´m experiencing equal levels of frustration. My comments on TV turned everyone against me. Then again, I won´t allow mere criticism to break my spirit so easily¨

Sae clenched her fist ¨We won´t keep letting ourselves be defeated either. My suspicion after the hacker´s case last month is now conviction thanks to the principal´s death. The mental shutdown cases and the psychotic breakdowns are surely the Phantom Thieves´ doing¨

-¨I remember the data you showed me about Okumura Foods. Is that the basis for these beliefs?¨

She nod ¨There have been frequent occurrences of mental shutdowns surrounding Okumura recently. If only there was a clear connection between him and The Phantom Thieves¨ she sighed ¨Well, it would be problematic if there wasn´t one¨

-¨So you´re jumping the gun here. And by the way, you really told a man you would terminate his parental authority based purely on your speculation? I´m surprised you would say such a thing to the owner of a café you frequent¨

-¨It´s all for the sake of the case¨

Akechi frowned sadly ¨You may have the backing of the SIU´s director… but you´ve been far too aggressive, Sae-san. You´re trespassing into police territory. Don´t say nobody warned you if this becomes an issue later¨

Sae clenched her teeth angry ¨My superiors told me the same thing¨

Akechi put his hand on his chin ¨We first need to know what methods the Phantom Thieves are using. The police can´t make a move unless that becomes apparent, after all¨

-¨This opponent can´t be caught by following the rules. What need is there to stick to formalities?¨

Akechi scowled at her ¨So you wish to ignore protocol in order to reform society? I hope you realize that´s no different than what the Phantom Thieves are doing¨

Both went quiet

-¨It´s a shame, especially since we both want to capture the culprit behind the psychotic breakdowns¨

And he walked away

-¨Tch. What does he knows? All that matters is the results¨

* * *

Meanwhile, on an unknown Palace, Morgana was laying on the floor, completely injured, despite his best efforts, he was no match for the Shadows

-¨I really messed up¨

-¨SHALL WE DESPOSE OF IT?¨ one Shadow asked

-¨LEAVE IT BE, WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE ON A SOLITARY FELINE¨

And they were gone

-¨Is this really impossible… alone?¨

A figure showed up, it was a girl

-¨How horrible¨

Morgana looked at the source of the voice ¨Who´s there?¨ and he passed out

* * *

 **9/14 Wednesday**

The following morning, Ren walked down the stairs, despite his efforts, sleep evade him, Futaba was sitting on a chair

-¨Hey, have you seen Morgana?¨ she asked, she was clearly sad and worry

-¨No, and I am worry¨

-¨Me too¨

Ren let out a sigh ¨This is my fault, I should not have said what I said, or at least phrased it better¨

-¨It´s not your fault, it´s nobody´s fault, you were trying to calm things down¨

-¨Thanks Futaba¨

-¨I kinda just expected he´d come home when he got hungry¨

-¨Let´s ask if he did not went to someone´s else place¨

-¨Oh, good idea¨ she took out her phone and typed something

 **Futaba: Morgana´s not back**

 **Ann: Huh? He hasn´t come home yet?**

 **Futaba: The food´s still in his bowl**

 **Ann: Do you really think he really just took off like that?**

 **Makoto: He´s a cat, so it´s possible he got into an accident**

 **Yusuke: Does he really seem to be the type who would go off and die on us like that though?**

 **Ryuji: It´s just been one day! Y´all are worrying too much! He´s prolly just doing his own stuff. I mean, he used to live alone, remember? Just don't worry about it! I´m sure he´ll come back if something happens**

-¨Aren´t they all being way too cold about this?¨ Futaba asked

-¨Considering what happened yesterday, it´s understandable, let´s discuss more after school¨

-¨Oh well, have a nice day¨

* * *

The day went on; Ren was in one of his classes, until his phone vibrated

 **Futaba: Hey, come straight home once school´s over, OK?**

 **Ren: What´s wrong?**

 **Futaba: We´re gonna wait together in case Morgana comes home!**

 **Ren: Ok**

* * *

Meanwhile, in the unknown Palace, the Shadows were all alarmed

-¨INTRUDER! AFTER THEM!¨ one of the shadows said

-¨WHERE DID THEY GO!? WE MUST FIND THEM!

A mysterious figure wearing black carrete hills land on the floor and run towards her companion, Morgana

-¨THERE ARE TWO OF THEM! DIVIDE AND PURSUE!¨ the Shadow yelled

* * *

Back at Leblanc, Futaba Ren and Sojiro were watching the TV, apparently someone shattered the Okumura Foods Corporate Headquarters HQ windows

-¨Mona´s still not home¨ Futaba said, total sad

-¨I´m sure he´ll come back when he gets hungry¨ Sojiro said

Futaba typed a message to Ren

 **Futaba: Hey, is that Okumura**

-¨Other damages have also been reported, including the destruction of a statue depicting Mr. Okumura¨ the newscaster said

 **Futaba: You think Mona charged in there by himself?**

 **Ren: It´s possible**

 **Futaba: Yeah… He may not seem like it sometimes, but he´s totally a capable cat when he wants to be. Either way, let´s go to Okumura´s Palace tomorrow. I´ll contact everyone**

Both nod in agreement, this caught Sojiro´s attention

Back at his room, Ren checked his phone; it was a message form Makoto

 **Makoto: Morgana went into Okumura´s Palace? Is that true, Futaba?**

 **Futaba: He did say he´d go alone**

 **Ann: Does that mean he´s in danger?**

 **Yusuke: The chances of that are highly likely**

 **Futaba: Yeah. We should all go in after him. The Palace is most likely at their corporate headquarters. I´ll look into it a bit more**

 **Ryuji: All right, let´s do it! We gotta look into those mental shutdowns too**

 **Makoto: I´d prefer a little more caution, but this is an emergency**

 **Futaba: Then we´ll go tomorrow. Don´t forget, everyone**

And so, Ren went to sleep

* * *

 **9/15 Thursday**

Ren and the crew arrived to the front of the Okumura foods HQ building

-¨Holy crap, this place is huge¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨it is the headquarters of a large corporation, after all¨ Yusuke added

-¨if anything, getting into the real building is impossible¨ Futaba said

\- ¨Mona seriously went to a palace based on somewhere like this…?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨it´s definetly on a different scale than the ones we´ve dealt with previously…¨ Makoto added

-¨I searched Okumura online, he´s totally up to something¨ he looked at Ren ¨don´t you think he´s guilty too?¨

-¨We´ll know soon enough¨

-¨I´m positive im right!¨

-¨We´re here for Mona" Futaba said

-¨i know, I know. We gotta make sure we squeeze the juice on those mental shutdown things out of him too¨

-¨You said you found the palace keywords, right, Futaba?¨ Makoto asked

¨The "corporate HQ" is "outer space!¨

There was a reaction

-¨Huh? The hell…?¨ Ryuji asked surprised

-¨Ohhh, so that´s why it´s called Big Bang Burger¨ Ann said ¨Big Bang is space lingo¨

-¨Um, not necessarily…¨ Makoto added so the concept behind the store-branch came from the CEO himself¨

-¨Outer space, huh? How exciting…¨ Yusuke said

-¨We better be able to breathe once we get in there¨ Ryuji said worry

-¨Is everyone ready? I´m activating it now¨ Makoto said

As the phantom thieves are about to enter the palace, a familiar face appears behind a Wall,spying on them,it was Goro Akechi that was following their trail,when suddenly he gets trapped into the palace entering process as well.

* * *

At the entrace of the space port palace,the group finds themselves wearing their phantom thief attire right off the bat

-¨We´re already considered threats?¨ Ann said shocked

-¨President Okumura must be on guard, what with everything that´s been in the news¨ Makoto pointed out

-¨That bastard! He´s just causin' more trouble for us!¨ Ryuji complained

Futaba took a look at her surrounding, lots of computers and futuristic stuff where there, and she could even see planet Earth from a window, it truly was space ¨Woah…¨

-¨it´s as though we´re in a film…¨ Yusuke added amazed as well ¨I wish I had brought my sketchbook"

-¨Mona might be in here somewhere, yeah?¨Ryuji asked ¨Mon, we gotta get lookin' for him¨

Without much difficulty they infiltrate the palace,discovering a very futuristic venue with consoles everywhere,hologram plants and the such,after a few steps in, they find themselves with an unsettling sight

-¨Huh? What´s all that noise?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨What is that…?¨ Yusuke asked

There saw a line of robots

-¨Robots? There´re tons of 'em¨ Ryuji said

-¨They all have the Big Bang Burger logo¨ Ann pointed out

-¨They are saying something…¨ Futaba said

" **you must adhere to your shifts…if you dont like it, you can quit…however, you will not be compensated"**

-¨What´re they talkin' about?¨ Ryuji asked confused

While all the robots are working and being supervised by what it seems a higher ranking robot, one of them falls to the ground

-¨Oh!¨ Ann said surprised

-¨They said… it´s being disposed of¨ Futaba added

-¨These robots are part of Okumura´s cognition, correct? That means they represent…¨ Yusuke said

-¨Don´t tell me¨ Ren said as realization hit him

-¨his is pure speculation…¨ Makoto said ¨But this is most likely how the workers of Okumura foods are viewed by their CEO"

-¨So he thinks they´re his robots!?¨ Ann asked shocked

-¨If they´re treated like this in reality as well… then the company truly is exploiting them¨ Yusuke said, feeling bad for the robots

-¨See!? Okumura IS a piece of shit! Just like I said¨ Ryuji said

-¨Mona is our main objective here¨ Futaba added

¨He doesn´t seem to be anywhere nearby, let´s search further in¨ Makoto said

-¨Dammit…" Ryuji cursed

-¨I wonder what Mona´s doing in here?¨ Ann wondered worried ¨We need to find him, fast¨

And so, the crew keeps going until they reach a spacious area, with an peculiar hologram on the center, big and tall shelves against the walls and a door that leads further in, but when their about to enter it…

-¨hold on a second, Joker!¨ Futaba said

The door in question closes before they can pass through it

-¨The door has closed. Is there any way to which we can open it?¨ Yusuke wondered

Then the door starts to scan Joker while the system´s voice comes from it

PERFORMING BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION"

-¨What does it mean by that?¨ Makoto wondered

AUTHORIZATION REGISTERED PERSONNEL MAY PROCEED PAST THIS POINT

-¨The security system might be a bit of a problem¨ Futaba said

-¨The hell´s up with this!?"Ryuji yelled and then he tried charge through the closed door, without success

-¨Look at it… there´s no way we can force that thing open¨ Ann said while helping Ryuji to stand out

-¨We´ve hit a blockade quite early¨ Yusuke said ¨Will we have to control the real okumura´s cognition to pass?¨

-¨Oh, that means Mona hasn´t been able to proceed any further either, so if he is here in the palace, he would have to be somewhere before this door…¨

But suddenly

-¨Halt, vigilante!¨ someone said

The voice is coming from the top of the big shelves that were next to them

-¨Wh-who´s that!?¨ Ryuji asked

A person appeared from the shadows, wearing a dark purple cavalier hat with a feather plume tucked into a royal purple hatband, a long-sleeved pale pink blouse with a white neck jabot (held there by a red gem pin), a black corset vest with gold buttons, bloomers that match her hatband, black pantyhose, a holster belt carrying ammo and lace-up pumps.

-¨Those clothes…¨ Makoto said when she realized of something ¨Could it be?¨

A particular part of the girl´s attire gets the group´s attention

-¨A black mask!?¨ Ann yelled, then ¨Wait, is she the one Madarame and Kaneshiro were talking about…!?"

-¨So…she´s the reason for all of those people going brain dead…!? it was a girl this whole time!?¨ Ryuji asked shocked

The girl seems a bit nervous to engage with the phantom thieves and remains silent

-¨Are you the one who has been following us!?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Say something, dammit!¨ Ryuji yelled

When suddenly a familiar laugh gets heard in the background

-¨enough of your misunderstandings¨

The owner of said voice steps out of the shadows as well

-¨Mona!¨ Futaba yelled happy

-¨You´re ok!¨ Ann said relieved

-¨Long time no see, Panther¨ the cat said

-¨uh, it hasn´t been that long¨ Ryuji pointed out

-¨If you came for the treasure, you should go home with your tail between your legs¨

-¨Actually, we were looking for you¨ Yusuke said

-¨The treasure will be taken by me and this…¨ he made a dramatic pause while pointing at his new companion ¨This beauty thief!¨

-¨Beauty thief…?¨ Makoto asked confused

-¨I´ll have you know she´s a Persona user too!¨ the cat added

-¨My name is beauty thief!¨ the new persona user exclaimed

-¨She really called herself that?¨ Ann asked in disbelief

-¨Any tensión that was in the air has just gone out the window…¨ Yusuke said, somewhat defeated by the situation

The beauty thief and Morgana make a frontflip out of the big shelves and land perfectly striking a pose

-¨We will take the treasure!¨ the beauty thief said

-¨Mona already said that…¨ Futaba pointed out

-¨You are not qualified to be Phantom thieves! Do you even understand what it means being a phantom thief? An admirable phantom thief is…"

-¨Yeah, tell them!¨ Morgana yelled

In an attempt to recall was she was taught by Mona, the beauty thief gets a little lost and decided to pint at Ren

-¨You! What do you think it means!?¨

-¨One who helps the weak¨ the probationer replies with no hesitation

-¨Yes! Thats…right?¨ the beauty thief said, totally not expecting a correct answer

Ren raised an eyebrow at her

-¨enough with the idle chitchat!¨

-¨You started it…¨ Ann pointed out

-¨Mona, who the hell is she?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Wait! I´ll fix this¨ Morgana said

Then the cat proceeds to make some kind of body gesture to the beauty thief, who pointed at Yusuke

-¨You!¨ she yelled

-¨Me?¨

-¨Learn to take a hint!¨

-¨huh…?¨

The beauty thief ignores him while she moves to Ryuji

-¨And you! You´re very vulgar… and very stupid!¨

-¨What?¨ Ryuji yelled

The beauty thief ignores him as well and moves on to Ann, although

-¨You, um…¨ she looked at Morgana ¨What was it again…?"

-¨You came all the way here just to say that?¨ Makoto asked confused

Ryuji scratched the back of his head confused ¨I dunno… it kinda feels like she ain´t dengerous at all¨

The beauty thief striking the same pose as before with Morgana shouts ¨We will take the treasure!¨

-¨You already said that…¨ Futaba said, tired of this situation

-¨We don´t have time to chat!¨

After saying that, him and the beauty thief run to the closed door, and it begins to scan the beauty thief

-¨No point, it won´t open¨ Ryuji tried to say, but

But he gets interrupted by the display of a message above the door that reads **Access grated**

This surprised the thieves

-¨Don´t underestimate us¨ the cat smiled cockily

The door opens revealing a big group of shadow waiting at the other side and catching everyone off guard

-¨Behind you!¨ Ann warned them

-¨Here they come!¨ Yusuke said

-¨Huh? huh? The beauty thief was scared; she didn't know what to do

-¨Snap out of it! We need to go!¨ Morgana yelled and they ran

-¨We´ll meet up later at our usual spot! Let´s hurry¨ Makoto yelled

* * *

And so everyone fled from Okumura´s palace while being chased by his shadow underlings, the thieves manage to meet back at their Leblanc´s attic hideout

Ren walked into his room after using the bathroom

-¨Oh, hey¨ Ann greeted him, somewhat tired

-¨Bet you´re tired…¨ Futaba added

-¨That was quite rough…¨ Yusuke said while panting ¨I haven´t felt exhaustion like this since i first awakened to my persona¨

-¨What´ve you been looking at all this time…?¨ Ann asked Makoto, who was watching her phone

-¨Sorry, I just didn´t wanna stand around and wait, the burglary at Okumura foods is circulating the news again¨

Ryuji entered the hideout

-¨Uuugh! Dammit! Why´d they keep commin' after only me!? It´s all cause Little Miss Beauty thief opened that door!"

-¨That door most likely had a biometric authentication lock¨ Futaba deduced ¨So how´d she get it to open…?¨

-¨I wonder who that girl could be¨ Ann wondered

-¨We were told she´s a persona user, correct? Do you believe it´s true?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨Well, she did look like one…¨

-¨Yeah, but, something was off¨ Ren said

Suddenly, Futaba looked at the floor, sad ¨Did Mona betray us…?¨

-¨That's not like him¨ Ren said, trying to cheer her up

-¨I wanna believe that too…¨ she looked at her injure ¨But¨

-¨I don´t think he´s betrayed us¨ Makoto added if he had, it´d make more sense to him to directly threaten us, such as exposing our identities¨

-¨Either way, how the hell´s Morgana related to that Beauty thief?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Considering her tone and physique, she looked around our age¨ Yusuke pointed out

-¨I feel like I've see her somewhere¨ Makoto said

-¨For real?¨ Ryuji asked surprised ¨Where at!?¨

-¨At school… I think"

-¨Wait, what!?... but, now that you mentioned it… I feel like I've seen her too…¨

-¨Is she a student of Shujin?¨ Yusuke asked

-¨I just feel like that´s the case, she did have a mask on, after all, the registry in the student council room has photos of every student, let´s check them all tomorrow, if we can figure out the identity of the Beauty thief, that may help us regain contact with Morgana¨

-¨Futaba and I should further probe into Okumura foods then, it´d be best if we investigate how sudden mental shutdowns are connected to them"

-¨We´re gonna take them down…!¨

* * *

 **9/16 Friday**

The following day, after a day of classes, until he sees a girl with Shujin P.E uniform, as well as fluffy light brown hair

He then remembered the pictures of the students that he and his friends saw, it was her, the Beauty Thief

He saw that she was struggling with a pile of fertilizer bags

-¨Come… on… move…!¨ she said while pushing

-¨Are you ok…?¨

The Beauty Thief turned around and saw Ren ¨Um… would you happen to be interested in gardening?"

Ren smiled a bit ¨Yeah, want some help?¨

-¨Thank goodness… if you could help me unload this…¨

Ren took the kart and unloads the fertilizer bags next to the planters

-¨Boys sure are strong, thank you, you are a second year, aren´t you?¨

-¨Yeah¨

-¨That makes me just a tad older¨ after a moment of silence, she started to wonder something ¨Um… have we met somewhere before…?¨

-¨I don´t think so¨

-¨Oh, wait, I forgot to introduce yourself, I am Haru Okumura, nice to meet you¨

-¨Nice to meet you as well Okumura-senpai¨ Ren then proceed to fix his glasses ¨Or should I call you Beauty Thief¨

Haru was surprised to hear that name, until she recalled the event of the previous night, she smiled a bit ¨I´m impressed, you figured it out in just one day¨

-¨You should not underestimate us as well¨

-¨Where are the others?¨

-¨I told them to leave this one to me, it´s just us now, so I have to ask, why did you become a phantom thief?¨

Haru was hesitant to speak

-¨I am not planning to tell anyone, regardless of what happens, you have my word¨

Haru could see the sincerity on Ren eyes, so she took a deep breath

-¨My father´s highly regarded as a manager, but I had various… doubts about him, things have grown quite serious lately… That´s why I want to make amends, even though it may be for my own satisfaction, but I wonder if this is just running from the problem¨

-¨I see, where did you meet Morgana?¨

-¨It was pure coincidence, I found a lonely looking cat in front of our office building, when I followed him, I ended up in the metaverse… there´s no way for me to change my father´s company… but if I became a phantom thief I thought I´d at least be able to change him…¨

-¨That is admirable¨ Ren complimented her

Haru was surprised to hear a compliment, it was something new, aside from Morgana, no one else did that

-¨Isn´t there a way we can work together?¨

-¨I can´t cooperate with people that don´t know what they want to do¨

-¨There is nothing wrong with having doubts¨ Ren cut her

-¨Huh?¨ Haru was confused

-¨There is nothing wrong about having doubts, we have them about targets before, this is not the first time and besides, and sorry if I sound rude, but I think you yourself have doubts¨

Haru was caught off guard with that question

-¨What?¨

-¨Why didn´t you summon your persona yesterday? Think I didn´t noticed it?¨

Haru kicked the dirt nervously ¨Oh, that¨ then she came up with an idea ¨I didn´t wanted you guys to get caught in the fire, my persona is quite powerful, so¨

-¨Senpai, don´t paint a sunflower with red and pink and tell me it is a carnation flower¨ Ren said ¨Let us be honest at least¨

Haru sighed, admitting defeat ¨Ok, you might have a point, but I am still doing this, and I also want to help Mona-chan, more than what you guys did for him, he told me that you called him a hypocrite¨

That part stroke Ren, he regretted that, but he kept his composure ¨That is something I truly regret, but in my defense, as well as that of my teammates, there were many opportunities he had to tell us something was wrong, we are not mind readers, besides, Morgana is losing focus on what is important, and I won´t stand for that¨ his phone ringed, he checked that he got a message ¨I have to go, so I´ll ask one last time, can we work together?¨

-¨Sorry, but I plan to do this by myself and with only Mona-chan¨

-¨Figure as much, have a good day senpai¨ and he began to walked away, until he stopped in his tracks ¨Listen, if you two want to go on with this, we are not stopping you, just… be careful¨

Haru´s eyes went wide

-¨Be careful both of you, I don´t want to anything to happen to you, and… Say Morgana I said hi, he will always be welcome¨ and he was gone

Haru did not believe it, was this truly the criminal student? She had heard of his record, as well as the rumors, but the person that just talked to her was the opposite to those descriptions, and on top of things, he was genially concerned for Morgana, could it be that what Morgana said was wrong? She didn´t knew what to think

* * *

The night fall, and Haru meets with her dad at the house

-¨I´m home father¨ she said with a slight bow

Her father didn't pay her attention, he was talking on his phone ¨drive them away¨ ¨…that´s right, make it a priority¨ and he hung up the phone, now he talked to himself ¨I finally get a foothold into politics and this happens, phantom thieves? hmph…!¨ he finally realized that her daughter was there ¨Did the media ask you anything?¨

-¨No,not at all… um, what´s this about Phantom Thieves?¨

-¨It seems I'm ranked first on the forum of these so-called Phantom Thieves¨

-¨Is it because of the news coverage?¨

¨Its jealousy of the successful, nothing but the bark of the masses who lack the resolve to sacrifice what´s needed for their well-being, both the young and the old are overjoyed with some foolish idols, this country has no future"

-¨What if they do exist? What if these Phantom thieves really can steal hearts…?¨

The CEO glared at his daughter ¨are you still having doubts about me?¨

Haru looked down the floor, scared ¨No…¨

¨More importantly¨ her father said ¨I hope things are going with that young man¨

-¨Yes father¨

-¨Very well then, he may not seem like it, but he´s still the son of an influential politician, be cordial with him, he´ll eventually become a necessary connection for this company-or rather, for me"

-¨I understand; I will do the best I can¨

-¨Good, that´s how a daughter of Okumura should be¨

* * *

Meanwhile, back at LeBlanc's attic, Ren checked his pone because the thieves started talking in the group chat

 **Ann:** **Hey, I found some weird comments on Mishima-kun´s website. They were thanking us for resolving request that we didn´t actually complete.**

 **Ryuji: It´s probably just a prank.**

 **Yusuke: But those requests are indeed resolved. Someone must be going into Mementos other tan us.**

 **Ann: I think it´s Morgana.**

 **Futaba: Agreed, he´s probably taking the Beauty thief with him too.**

 **Makoto: We should look into this. Ren tried to persuade Okumura-san at school.**

 **Ren: Yeah, but no luck**

 **Ryuji: How´re we gonna look into this then?**

 **Makoto: We´´ll stake Mementos.**

 **Ren: Like a detective.**

 **Ann: I'm not sure how I feel about you saying that, I mean, we´re the Phantom Thieves…**

 **Yusuke: The method is ineed a classic one, but it´s a safe bet.**

 **Ann: Yeah, I think it´s better than just looking for them randomly.**

 **Futaba: I'm gonna have all sorts of snacks! No teachers to stop me on this field trip.**

 **Ryuji: Welp, why don´t we get this over with?**

 **Makoto: Let´s do it tomorrow.**

With that last message from Makoto they stopped talking in the group chat

* * *

 **9/17 Saturday**

The following day, the gang starts it by entering Mementos to wait for Morgana

-¨You´re going to apologize when Monna comes, all right?¨ Ann said to Ryuji

-¨I know already!¨ the blondie replied angrily ¨And why are you just saying that to me!?"

-¨We need to be wary of the Beauty thief too¨ Makoto warned

-¨So we´re doing a stakeout here¨ Yusuke said

-¨We better be ready for the long haul!¨ Futaba said as she open a bag of potato chips

And so, time passed, after quite a while, the thieves were starting to get bored

-¨Ain´t he gonna show up today?¨ Ryuji asked annoyed ¨I mean, what time is it now?¨

-¨Hold that thought¨ Yusuke said

Right at that moment, Morgana and Haru enter Mementos and unexpectedly find themselves with the group

-¨You guys are seriously slacking off way too much!¨ the cat said angry

-¨Do you have business with us?¨ Haru asked wary of the thieves

-¨Aren't you fulfilling the requests on the Phantom Afficionado Website? Even leaving comments?¨ Makoto asked ¨It´d be best if you don´t accept them so recklessly¨

-¨The police will track you down in no time, if that were to happen we´d be caught up in it as well¨ Yusuke warned

-¨That´s not what i intended…!¨ Haru said embarrassed ¨But… that would be my fault… I´m actually not that great with machines… I'm truly sorry¨

-¨Why´re you apologizing!?¨ Morgana asked angry

-¨They´re telling us for our sake, we should be thanking them¨

-¨Won´t you please put what happened behind us?¨ Makoto pleaded

-¨So I'm the one you´re here for?¨ Morgana asked, somewhat happy ¨You guys need me after all? Is that it?¨

-¨You are vital to our team¨ Ren said

-¨Really?¨ Ryuji asked confused

-¨Ryuji!¨ Ann said in a reprimanding tone, she then looked at the cat Ryuji ¨We´re sorry too, Morgana, we weren´t taking your feelings into consideration at all¨

-¨Lady Ann…¨ Morgana said, touched by Ann words

-¨E-everyone, shouldn´t you be using code names…?¨ Haru asked confused

-¨Ryuji didn´t really mean what he said, you know? he wants to apologize…¨

Ryuji just grabbed his neck, embarrassed of being put on the spotlight ¨Well, it´s like… it was my bad too… I mean, I don´t mind if you´re not human or if you´re useless!"

And of course, that part stroke Mona´s nerve

-¨What a douche…¨ Futaba said while facepalming

-¨Ann´s setup was completely ruined¨ Yusuke said with a sigh

-¨Oh, is that right!? So I AM just some useless cat to you guys! You´re so full of yourselves, but do you have the skill to back that up!?¨

Mona runs back and transforms into his bus form

-¨Try and catch me then!¨ now reffering to Haru ¨Get in, Beauty thief!¨

Hesitantly, Haru got into the van

-¨If you can´t do this, don't count on me ever coming back!¨

-¨Don´t even try, you gotta hear us out, Morgana!¨ Ryuji yelled

-¨There´s nothing I have to talk with you about¨

-¨Come on, there´s no need to keep being so stubborn¨ Makoto said

-¨I can´t just give in like this! I have my pride to protect!¨

And so, they were gone

-¨Ugh… those two…¨ Ryuji said annoyed

-¨I don't hear the sound of his engine at all…¨ Ann said ¨Could they have left Mementos…?¨

-¨Our lack of vehicle puts us in a severe disadvantage… we should probably just head home for today¨ Makoto suggested

-¨Dammit! Freakin' Morgana!¨

* * *

They decide to leave Mementos for the day,meanwhile,Haru and Mona are inside an alley talking to each other

-¨Hmph, serves them right¨ the cat said

-¨Are you sure this is what you wanted…?¨ Haru asked, feeling kind of sorry for the others

-¨of course it was!¨

The cat went ahead, but Haru got stopped by the appearance of a suspicious well-dressed man that starts talking to her

-¨You made me look everywhere for you…¨ the well-dressed guy said and got closer to her ¨What were you doing somewhere without any reception? Out late with guys- that´s it, isn´t it?¨

-¨I would never do such a thing…!¨ Haru said, somewhat terrified of this man

The man grabbed her arm and smile perversely ¨C´mon, let me have some fun too,will ya? Can´t you do that for me?¨

-¨Ow…!¨ Haru yelled

Morgana caught sight of the situation ¨Haru!¨ he then glared at the man ¨You Little-let go of Haru!¨ and jumped to his leg

-¨What the-goddamn cat!¨

The well-dressed man proceeded to launch Morgana against the wall to get rid of him

-¨Mona-chan!¨ Haru said worried

-¨Dammit…¨ the cat said in pain ¨I really am… useless at this rate… someone… anyone… is anybody out there…!?¨

-¨Will you shut up, you stupid cat!?¨ the man said

While this was happening, Ren and the group were pretty close by

-¨Damn that Morgana...¨ Ryuji said pissed ¨He is so getting it the next time we run into him!"

That's when they hear a familiar voice saying ¨Some..body…?¨ not that far away

-¨Was that… Mona´s voice!?¨ Futaba said

-¨Hey over there…!¨ Ann said wile pointing at a nearby alley ¨That doesn´t look right to me…!¨

The Phantom Thieves run to where Haru and Mona were, to find an injured Mona on the floor and that well-dressed man grabbing Haru´s arm again

-¨Please… let go…!¨ Haru begged

-¨Okumura-san!¨ Makoto yelled

-¨Mona!¨ Futaba said while realizing that Morgana was on the ground

-¨The hell are you doing to our friend!?¨ Ryuji asked angrily

-¨Sorry about the disturbance¨ the man said in a fake apologetic tone ¨It´s just a… lover´s quarrel with my fiancée¨

-¨Fian-what? But she´s clearly fighting you!¨ Ann said

The man clenched his teeth and glared at Haru ¨How dare you make a fool of me, I'll be telling your father about this too¨ and now referring to the group ¨I won´t forget your faces…¨

The well-dressed man finally leaft and the thieves started to check up on Haru

-¨Are you ok?¨ Ann asked her

-¨I'm fine, but Mona-chan¨

Morgana forced himself to stand up despite the pain ¨this is nothing…¨

-¨Was that person really your fiancee?¨ Makoto

Haru nod with sadness

-¨Whoa, so you are engaged then!?¨ Futaba asked surprised

-¨That didn´t seem like an ordinary fight though…¨ Ann pointed out ¨Shouldn´t you talk to your parents about it?¨

-¨I think it´d be useless, I'll just be told to beg for his forgiveness, even if it means groveling on the ground…¨ she started crying a bit after that last part

-¨It seems she has her reasons¨ Yusuke said

-¨I´ll, um… apologize for what happened earlier¨ Morgana said in pain ¨So… would you let Haru rest for a while?¨

-¨Of course¨ Ryuji said and looked at Ren ¨We´ll take her to your place, yeah?¨

-¨Obviously¨

-¨Thanks¨ the cat replied

* * *

They decided to make haste and hurry to Leblanc´s attic

At the thieves´ hideout, Haru was sleeping on the sofá, while the crew was talking to Morgana

Until she woke up

-¨I'm sorry… I fell sleep…¨

-¨Did you get enough rest?¨

-¨Yes¨ she then looked at the cat ¨Mona-chan?¨

-¨Anyway, it´s just as I told you a moment ago, I can´t have you guys risk their lives anymore for someone useless like me¨ Morgana said apologetic ¨To be frank, there's no assurance that I'll turn back into a human either… this can´t be called a fair deal, that´s why I think we should split up"

-¨Who said we´re acting as Phantom Thieves for your sake?¨ Yusuke said with a small smile ¨I´m doing it to expand my own horizons¨

-¨No need to tiptoe around the situation, we´re splitting up¨

Ren just shook his head while saying ¨You still don´t get it¨

Haru grabbed Morgana and sat him on her lap

-¨You should stop lying, do you remember what you´ve told me when I found you collapsed in the Metaverse? That you´re a Phantom Thief, that you are going to get stronger and have the others acknowledge you¨ squeezing him with her arms ¨You love being here, don´t you?¨

The cat free himself ¨O-of course not…¨

-¨I was lying to myself too, but when I formed a contract with my Persona… I understood it all, doing this because my father is doing something horrible… was nothing but a superficial reason, the truth is, I¨

-¨Don´t want to get married, right?¨ Ann deduced

-¨I thought that since an adult with responsibilities made decision, it couldn´t be wrong, I was such a fool, tied down by vague notions and stayed quiet while my marriage partner was chosen… but I won't tolerate this anymore, I can´t stand that creep!¨ feeling relieved ¨Phew…that´s how I truly feel¨

Suddenly, the gang looked at the gang

-¨Wh-why are you looking at me all of a sudden?¨

-¨Mona-chan, why is it that you always talked about becoming human again?¨

-¨That´s… at first I only thought of this team as a temporary felling until I regained my memories, but I wasn´t making any progress om finding out what I am or why I was born…¨

-¨Morgana…¨ Ann felt bad for him

-¨I wanted a reason of my own, a reason to stay with the Phantom Thieves, I don't have anyone I wanna save or get revenge on, someone like me has no reason to stay here, that´s why… to me… this team is….¨

-¨C´mon, say it! You can do it!¨

-¨It´s the only place I can belong! I wanna stay here forever!¨

The thieves smiled proudly

-¨Music to my ears¨ Ren said

-¨That was refreshingly honest¨ Yusuke said

-¨You shoulda said so from the start!, geez!¨ Ryuji said with a grin

-¨If you stick with me, there´s no telling what kind of problems will come up! You better be sure about this!¨

-¨It´s a Little late for all that, don´t you think?¨ Ann said ¨Of course we want to stay with you too¨

-¨Uhm… so… well… …I'm sorry I worried you guys¨ looking happier now ¨This is where I belong! My mind is all set! I´ll make sure to work hard to pay my dues¨ he looked at Ren ¨it´s too late to cancel our deal, got it?¨

The trickster gave him a warm smile ¨let´s do this together¨

-¨We´re reforming our give and take deal¨

-¨Welcome back¨

-¨Well, in the end, wouldn´t you say that your encounter with us was destiny?¨ Ann asked

-¨That´s right… Encounter¨

Ryuji checked his phone ¨Oh crap! The last train is coming up¨

-¨I must go as well¨ Yusuke said

-¨Let´s continue this another time¨ Makoto suggested

-¨I…¨ Haru was unsure of what to do

-¨Stay at our place, I'll arrange it¨ Futaba said

-¨See you all tomorrow!¨

And the thieves were gone, leaving Ren and Morgana alone

-¨I am going to sleep, I am beaten¨

-¨Yeah, same here¨ Ren looked at the wall, lost in thought

-¨What´s wrong?¨

-¨Listen I…. I am sorry too¨

-¨Huh?¨

-¨I am sorry, I shouldn´t have called you a hypocrite just because you were worry of never being a human, if anything, the true hypocrite is me, it is easier to say that you shouldn´t worry so much when I am a human myself¨ He looked down at the floor ¨So much for being a friend¨

-¨Wait, don´t say that stuff¨ the cat said, feeling guilty of how Ren was thinking of himself ¨You were right, I was too damn focused that I took other things for granted, I should just have told you everything a long time ago, but I guess I just wanted you guys to grovel at my paws, so don´t apologize, I am the one who should¨

-¨Morgana¨ Ren said in disbelief ¨I guess we both screwed it up, though if it helps, you are more human than you think¨

-¨How so?¨

-¨A true human realizes of what they did wrong and tried to make up for it, you are more human than the people we faced before, so you should feel happy for yourself¨

-¨Ren¨ Morgana said touched

-¨No matter who you are Morgana, I´ll be your friend, ok?¨

The cat nod happily ¨Same here¨

After that, Ren went to sleep, although Morgana didn´t

-¨A true human realizes his mistakes and makes up for it… Then there is something I still need to do

* * *

 **9/18 Sunday**

The following day, Haru went back, where her father just finished a phone call

-¨The matter has been settled, you´ll be welcomed into his household¨

-¨Excuse me?¨

-¨You won't be officially registered yet, but isn´t that how things are with young people are this days? Go prove your sincerity to him, you can do that, can´t you?¨

Haru was offended ¨So, I'm not even allowed to decide where I'll live, am I…?¨

-¨Not only do you come home late, you even stayed out overnight without permission… I thought I have been clear about the friends you choose¨

Haru tried to stood up for her friends ¨Father, they´re not like-" but she got interrupted by Okumura´s phone ringing

-¨I have my hands full right now with the company, don´t cause any more trouble for me¨ he then gets up and attends the call -¨Hello… Yes, its fine…go on¨

Haru took out her phone and called Ren

-¨Hello Haru, is something wrong?¨

-¨I need to discuss something with everyone, can we all meet…?¨

* * *

It was nighttime and the gang met at Ren´s room, where Haru filled them in

-¨That´s horrible…¨ Ann said outraged ¨It´s that same fiancée guy, right? You know what´s gonna happen…¨

-¨Based on what Haru just told us, she´ll be taken to his house on October 11th… that mean sour deadline is the 10th¨ Morgana said

-¨But if we trigger a change of heart in your father, he´ll definitely be taken by the police, the label of a "criminal´s daughter" will forever stick with you¨ Yusuke said

-¨If I accept a happiness based on the misfortune of others, I'll be no better than my father, and to be honest… I've actually left a request on the Phantom Afficionado website before"

-¨She did so around the time we were mulling over who to target next¨ Morgana said

-¨But… the Phantom Thieves didn´t make a move… that´s when I met Mona-chan, I thought it was fate, I've made my decision then, if the Phantom Thieves wouldn't act, I'd do it myself…¨

-¨The mental shutdowns, treasure and finally, the change of heart… our interests have come together¨ Yusuke added

-¨Would you cooperate with us now?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Of course, I should be the one cordially asking to be allowed on the team"

-¨From here on, we may be going up against the culprit behind those mental shutdown occurrences, this will be different from our training in mementos, you better brace yourself¨ Morgana said

-¨You´re suddenly lecturin' us?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨You are too naive, Haru´s barely a hair better than an amateur, she's awakened to her powers but its weak… even her Persona´s lacking a solid form at the moment"

-¨Weak? Really?¨ Futaba asked surprised

-¨She can transform at the very least, but to be frank, she may slow us down, a lot¨

-¨I´m sorry for causing such trouble…¨ Haru said ashamed

-¨Nah, don't worry about it¨ Ryuji said ¨It´s actually convenient for us to target that CEO¨ He took out his phone ¨Check out this news blog¨

-¨There´s a lot of negative comments in regards to the Phantom Thieves¨ Makoto said

-¨The way they ´re getting heated is on a different level¨ Futaba said

-¨Don´t forget about the Intel on the mental shutdown cases, all right?¨ Morgana asked

-¨Of course!, we´ll get 'em both!¨ Ryuji said with excitement

-¨October… uhh, 10th, was it? We´re gonna change Okumura´s heart by then!¨

And so the gang set their new mission, after that, everybody began to leave, except

-¨Haru wait¨ Ren said

-¨Yes Amamiya-kun?¨

-¨I need to tell you something¨

-¨What is it?¨

Ren grabbed his neck embarrassed, this was going to be awkward

-¨Why don´t you sit down? This could take a while¨

Confuse, she did so

Ren then proceed to explain everything about his past, what truly happened the night he was arrested, as well as who was his father

-¨Oh my god¨ Haru said totally in shock

-¨Yeah¨ the probationer sighed ¨There you have the truth¨

-¨It is… It is too much to believe¨

-¨I know it is, but I mean, you probably heard all sort of stuff back at school, right? Rumors and such¨

-¨Well, yes, but… Honestly, I didn´t knew what to believe back when you first arrived, eventually I simply just stopped wondering about it¨

-¨That is actually quite good, compare to what some other people do, of course I don´t resent them, they are free to believe what they want¨

-¨Well, sure, but it is so unfair, if only they take the time to get to know you¨

-¨Meh, it is fine, I have my true friends, that is all I ask¨

-¨Say, Amamiya-kun¨

-¨Ren is fine¨ the probationer assured her

-¨Well, Ren, why are you telling me all of this?¨

-¨Well, first of all, you deserve to know the truth, especially now that we are going to be working together, frankly, I am surprised Morgana didn´t tell you first¨

-¨Regardless of what was happening between us, that was still not a reason to just suddenly tell your past to everyone¨ the cat said

-¨I appreciate it, and second of all¨ he paused

-¨Yes?¨ Haru asked

-¨Are you sure you are ok with what we are about to do?¨

-¨What do you mean?¨

-¨Once we change your father heart and he gets arrested, people will label you as the daughter of a criminal and such, believe me, I´ve been there and I am still there, I am worry that it might be too much¨

Haru gave a small smile ¨I appreciate your concern, but my mind is set, my father has to atone for what he is doing, and as his daughter, I feel is my duty to help him get on the right track again¨

Ren simply nod ¨I see, very well, I will not ask again¨

-¨And thank you for your honesty, it means a lot¨

-¨Don´t mention it¨

Both of them shared a laugh

-¨You know Ren¨

-¨Yes?¨

-¨Um… No, nevermind, it sounds rude no matter how I say it¨

-¨Please, go ahead, I don´t mind¨

-¨Well… you are not what the rumors picture, you are quite the opposite, for starters, I was not expecting you to be into gardening¨

-¨Being honest, at first it was because I got a job at a flower shop since I needed the money, my mom or my brother send me some but I can´t always rely on that, so I figure the best to do was to learn about gardening as much as possible, but after a while, I really started to like it¨

-¨I am happy to hear that, we should work together sometime¨

-¨For sure, by the way, can I ask you something?¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨Well, I know you and Morgana took care of some requests on mementos, but since you can use your persona properly, how did you do?¨

-¨Oh well, we got lucky, the shadows were weak to wind, so usually Mona-chan weakened them and I deliver the final blow so to speak with my axe¨

-¨You use an axe?¨

-¨Yeah, I am not sure why that weapon though, it just came when I changed into my thief outfit, maybe because of how I chop wood in my room´s balcony¨

-¨Really?¨

-¨Yeah¨ and she smiled ¨I just loved the feeling of cutting things down, maybe because of all horror movies I saw , there is a certain excitement that I get whenever I see the enemies going down, blood spilling all over, I don´t why though¨ she let out a giggle

That comment and giggle sent a shiver down Ren´s spine, sure, he also gets that excitement whenever he fights, but the way Haru describes it, it sounds more sadistic than anything he could feel

-¨That is…. That is good¨ the probationer laughed nervously

-¨Yeap, I got the same fear when I first discovered it¨ Morgana said

-¨Huh?¨ Haru was confused ¨Did I said something I shouldn´t have?¨

-¨No, no, not at all¨ he decided to change the topic ¨Oh, um, are you and Makoto classmates?¨

-¨Yes, but we never really spoke outside of when we got the same school assignments, so I really don´t know her that much¨

-¨Oh¨ Ren was disappointed

-¨Why do you ask?¨

-¨It is just… Nevermind¨

-¨He is in love with her, like, a lot¨ Morgana said

Haru´s eyes went wide upon hearing that

-¨Morgana!¨ Ren yelled, cheeks burning

-¨Really? You don´t have any problems telling her about your past and this is the part you find hard?¨

-¨Is that true Ren?¨

The probationer sighed ¨Yeah, it is¨

-¨Oh my¨ she then smiled ¨That is so sweet, have you told her how you feel?¨

-¨No, no, and I better don´t, I don´t want my reputation to drag her down, you know?¨

Haru frowned ¨Don´t talk like that, I am sure Mako-chan doesn´t care what others think¨

-¨Maybe, but for now, I better keep quiet¨

-¨Oh, well, I wish I could help, but I don´t have experience on that¨

-¨It is fine; I'll see what to do myself¨

Haru checked the time ¨It is getting late; I better go back home¨

-¨I´ll accompany to the station just in case¨

-¨Thank you¨

And so they walked towards the station, once on the train, Haru began to think about her conversation with Ren, he was quite the opposite of what the rumors said, kind, honest and attentive, she was surprised to know that he was worry about her and that he was willing to help her, even if they just met, and that made her smiled happily

* * *

 **9/19 Monday**

The following day, after classes, Ryuji headed towards Shujin´s roof, he got a message from Ren to meet up there

-¨Yo¨ Ryuji said

-¨Oh, you are here, good¨ Ren said

-¨What do you want to talk about?¨

-¨It is not me¨

-¨Huh?¨ the blondie was confused

-¨Thank you for calling him for me Ren¨ someone said

Morgana appeared from the shadows

-¨Morgana!?¨ Ryuji exclaimed ¨Ren, what is this about?¨

-¨Don´t ask me, he ask me to call you here to talk about something, just the two of you, so I am gonna be waiting at the entrance gate with Makoto and the others, bye¨ and he was gone

-¨Sorry to surprise you like that¨ the cat said

-¨Um, ok, what is it?¨

-¨I….¨ Morgana got sad ¨I am sorry¨

-¨Huh?¨ Ryuji was more confused

-¨I am sorry for every time I insulted you, calling you brainless, a monkey, etc., I only focus on your negative aspect in order to made myself feel better about my lack of humanity and identity, but I realized that there are more important things, I want to stay here with all of you, and the first step is to admit what I did wrong, so…. I am really sorry Ryuji!¨

-¨Dude…¨ Ryuji was shocked ¨You did nothing wrong¨

-¨Huh?¨

-¨Honestly, I deserve those insults, me and my big mouth got us in problems more times than I can count, and rather than help you, all I did was make you feel worse, so let´s just admit, I am an idiot, there is no denying it¨

-¨Don´t say that¨ Morgana cut him ¨Sure, you are not precisely the smartest one, but you have good traits, like how much you care for your mother and friends, and how you are the first that wants to help somebody who needs it, I mean, a true idiot wouldn´t do all of that¨

Ryuji was touched by those words ¨Thanks man, you yourself are cool, I mean you are the one that guided us when we started this, let´s face, we really needed you, and we still do, for what is worth, you are more human than you imagine¨

-¨I… Thank you Ryuji¨

-¨Don´t mention it, but really, we need to stop doing that to each other, a joke once in a while it is cool, but whenever we are starting to eff the other, let´s just say it¨

-¨Yeah, you are right¨

-¨Man, this got heavy real fast, for real, let´s change the topic, I´ve been curious about something¨

-¨What?¨

-¨Well, I noticed Haru stayed longer at Ren Ren house, was everything ok?¨

-¨Yeah, he simply told him his past and they talk about other stuff, like Ren feelings for Makoto¨

-¨Oooh, I feel bad for the guy, he should just say how he feels¨

-¨Yeah, but¨

-¨What?¨

-¨Well, don´t get me wrong, I like Makoto, but if she really is not into Ren, in that sense, then maybe he should move on and find someone else, you know?¨

-¨Nah, there is no way Makoto does not feel something, considering how jealous she got¨

That part made Morgana´s eyes went wide ¨Wait, what?¨

Ryuji realized his mistake ¨Um… Nothing, you know me, just random shit that comes out of my mouth, hehehe¨

-¨Ryuji…¨

The blondie just facepalmed, he and his big mouth ¨Ugh, fine, remember back at the fire work festival, when you and Ren just left after we ran into that Asumi girl? Well I said, and I was just joking, that she was Ren´s ex-girlfriend, and I don´t know why, but Makoto was really against the idea, I mean, she was mad and simply stormed out of the store as well, seriously, I thought she got jealous or something like that¨

-¨Holy…¨ Morgana was shocked, could this mean that maybe Makoto feels the same way ¨Does Ren knows about it?¨

-¨Hell no!¨

-¨Ryuji, you have to tell him, if he knows that there is a chance that Makoto feels the same way, regardless of how small, it could be what gives him a reason to confess his feelings¨

-¨Or it could be what gives Makoto a reason to kick my ass, she made me promise not to tell you or Ren that, and she might even kick yours for finding out¨

Morgana gulped ¨Well, I definitely don´t want that¨

-¨Besides, it was months ago, for all we know, she might have gotten over it¨

-¨You have a point, still, I feel bad for Ren, but it is his decision after all¨

-¨Yeah, same here, anyway, let´s go with the others, we are going to the Palace today¨

* * *

And after meeting at their hideout, the gang was once more at Okumura´s palace, they headed to the door that they couldn´t pass last time, although this time, with Haru´s help, they could

-¨By the way¨ Ryuji said ¨You seemed real fired up back when we first met? Was that an act Mona put you up to? Y´know… the beauty thingy?¨

Haru put her hands behind her back, embarrassed at the question ¨That was… um… I was trying to be a heroine of justice¨

There was a pause

-¨Uh… Is that a joke?¨

-¨You moron!¨ Ann said with a glare

-¨Ever since I was young, people around me have never seen me for who I really am. They would be kind to me just to please my father, and would get money and presents in exchange. Adults, teachers, even friends… It seemed like everyone smiled at me for their own personal gain¨

-¨That´s why you kept the details of your family a secret at school¨ Makoto concluded

Suddenly, Haru smiled ¨But the female superheroes I used to see on the TV were so great! They always fought for others, not themselves… and they were always happy. I wanted to be just like that! Even though I knew it was just fantasy… I still looked up to them¨

-¨Everyone goes wild over heroes at some point¨ Ryuji added, and then looked at Ren ¨It´s fine having someone like that on our side, right, Joker?¨

-¨Yeah, of course¨

That comment caused Haru to blush a bit

-¨What are you doing here?¨ a voice said

The thieves looked towards the source of that voice, and what they saw was beyond crazy

-¨Huh? Huh?¨ Haru said confused

-¨This is insane on so many levels?¨

There it was, Shadow Okumura, he wears mostly black, form-fitting spacesuit with the same colors as his undershirt, and has blue skin

-¨I thought I told you not to associate with vulgar people¨ the shadow said

Suddenly, the same handsome man from the other day showed up

-¨That bastard!¨ Ryuji said enraged

-¨Him!?¨ Haru said surprised ¨Did he come into the Palace too!?¨

-¨No!¨ Morgana said ¨He might look the same, but that isn´t the real person, remember what I explained you earlier?¨

-¨You mean about the cognition thing?¨

-¨What are you mumbling about?¨ Shadow Okumura asked

Haru took a few steps forward ¨Do you recall what I said before? That I would do my best for you?¨ she then threw a looked filled with determination ¨This is my answer¨

-¨Are those… the rumored Phantom Thieves?¨ the shadow asked ¨I see!¨ he then smiled brightly ¨You´re handing them over me as a plea for forgiveness! Overcome failure at any costs, even if it means betraying others, you truly embody the Okumura motto! Very well, join me!¨

-¨Why do you only ever think about gains and losses!? That´s why the company has a bad reputation… All because you treat people like they´re tools¨

-¨To gain, you must give… One must be resolved to give even more if they wish to stand above others. We are on vastly different levels… and soon, I will rise to a new stage, the political world!¨ he then smiled creepily ¨The cold reality of kicking people down is a part of business! Virtue and sentiment are for losers. Hehehe, Okumura Foods shall be the foundation of my victory!¨

-¨His company is just a stepping stone¨ Makoto said with shock

-¨Mr. Okumura, we don´t need a girl who´s been soiled by thieves¨ the fiancé said ¨Unless you make some compromises, I can´t introduce her to my father¨

-¨She needn´t be your lawful wife anymore¨ the shadow said ¨Take her as your lover, or whatever it is you desire¨

-¨Very well… I accept¨

-¨Lover?¨ Haru asked ¨I was raised under this company´s wealth… I even accepted a political marriage for you. This is not what we discussed! Father! You want me to be that man´s plaything just to satisfy your own ambitions?¨

-¨Hmph, why fret? You should be overjoyed that you´re fulfilling your role as an Okumura daughter. This is the only value you´ve had from the very beginning¨

The thieves were stunned to hear that

-¨So… even his own daughter´s life is a commodity to him¨ Yusuke said with sadness

Haru fell to her knees, this was too much ¨I¨

The cognitive fiancé began to get closer ¨Now, why don´t you come… to my place?¨ he suddenly turned into a giant robot with a white suit ¨Let´s have fun! I´ll play with you until I get bored! A high school fiancée… What a turn-on!¨

Ren and the others got ready to summon their personas, until

-¨So vulgar¨ Haru whispered

-¨No!¨ Morgana yelled worry ¨Haru´s Persona won´t stand a chance against that¨

-¨Don´t worry¨ Futaba said

The robot attacked Haru, but

-¨She hadn´t awakened to her real power, that´s all!¨ the hacker added

And there it was, a female figure, wearing a black and pink Rococo style dress, with red and pink vertical striped puffs on the sleeves of the dress that extends to her elbows and wearing pink gloves. The bottom of the dress is in a pink color with golden trim around the dress, which has a golden lip on the center of the dress that makes it resemble a smiling face. There are black and red curtain drapes around the dress underneath, a pink heart shaped frill around her waist with a red bow tied on the drapes and a knife next to on the center of the heart shaped frill.

Haru began to stand up, until she grabbed her head in pain, she began to hear a voice

 **I see you finally made up your mind...my dear, fated princess. Freedom for you must stem from betrayal. If you still yearn for it now...then you must not err. Now, tell me...who shall you betray?**

Finally, after catching her breath, Haru said ¨My heart has been set… you should know¨ She looked at her enemies, with golden eyes

 **Yes, that gaze...! I can finally display my true strength. I am thou, thou art I. Let us adorn your departure into freedom with a beautiful betrayal.**

Suddenly, the persona skirt opened up, revealing a veil mouth which have cannons and Gatling guns on it

-¨Geez!¨ Ryuji said scared

Haru grabbed her hat in a dramatic manner ¨Farewell, dear father¨ she pointed at the shadow ¨I am no longer your subservient puppet¨

The shadow was unimpressed ¨Then so be it… You´re worthless¨ he began to walked away while saying at the robot ¨Hmph. Deal with them how you wish¨

-¨You poor thing… I´ll toy with you until you break!¨

-¨I don´t expect you to come to reason at all¨ Yusuke said

-¨Uh-huh¨ Ryuji said ¨We shoulda just told you this from the start, asshat¨

-¨We are the Phantom Thieves¨ Morgana said ¨Here to take your bribe!¨

And they charged towards the robot, who summoned two smaller ones to help it

-¨Thieves who steal from others need to be severely punished¨ the big robot said ¨Haru, be a good girl! Come my toy!¨

-¨I have no intentions of talking to you! For the sake of changing my father´s heart, I cannot lose!¨

-¨So this is Haru´s true power¨ Makoto said amazed

-¨Haru…¨ Morgana said ¨All right, let´s do this! Time to pummel that scummy jerk!¨

-¨Beauty thief¨ Ren said ¨Will you do us the honor?¨

-¨Certainly¨ she then took her battling pose ¨Milady!¨

The persona fired pink orbs at the robots

-¨Persona!¨ Ren summon Jatayu and used Marakunda to lower the enemy´s defense

-¨Persona!¨ Morgana called Zorro and used Magarula, sending wind blasts at the two smaller robots, destroying them

-¨Get ready¨ Ann summon Carmen and proceed to lower the giant robot attack

The robot used brain shake as a counterattack, but it did little

-¨Persona!¨ Haru called Milady once more, firing Psio and knocking it down

With this chance, they performed an All-out Attack, after it was done, Haru took a sit on her chair, poured herself some tea and rank it, and said ¨Adieu¨ as the finishing touch

The robot was no more

-¨I did it¨ Haru said, still amazed ¨I did it, Mona-chan!¨

-¨What were you saying about her Persona being weak?¨ Ryuji asked

Suddenly, realization hit Haru ¨He disappeared! Is that OK?¨

-¨Are you sure you taught her how things work here?¨ Ann asked the cat

-¨I did… or so I thought¨

-¨What´s the point if she doesn´t get it?¨ Futaba asked

-¨Don´t worry¨ Makoto said ¨Cognitive beings have no correlation to their real-world counterparts. You´ll see when we get back. I guarantee he will be OK¨

-¨Then, he´s not dead?¨

-¨That´s right?¨ Yusuke said

-¨Dude¨ Ryuji said ¨Does this mean we got a new teammate? Good to have ya… uh…¨

-¨She already has a code name¨ Morgana said

-¨You can call me Noir¨ Haru said

-¨Noir?¨ Ryuji asked confused

-¨It means black in French. I´d like to be a heroine of justice, but the Phantom Thieves are on the darker side of the law. I chose the name Noir to remind me of that¨

-¨There you have it¨ the cat said

-¨As long as she is into it¨ Ann said

-¨She created quite an elaborate backstory¨ Yusuke pointed out

-¨Noir. I like it¨ Makoto said ¨It conveys a dignity that won´t bow down to others, as well as a rebellious spirit toward society¨

-¨Thank you¨

-¨Don´t let your guard down Noir¨ Morgana said ¨Our trip through the Palace doesn´t end until we steal the Treasure, after all¨

-¨Yes, sir!¨

-¨Someone´s talking all big again¨ Futaba said

And so, the thieves went on, after facing more robots and space related stuff, the thieves were finally at the treasure location

-¨Yes, we´ve found it!¨ Morgana yelled ¨This is it¨

-¨But we haven´t found any information about the mental collapses¨ Yusuke said ¨That bothers me¨

-¨Maybe he is hidin it?¨ Ryuji said ¨We got this far. Wouldn´t it be better to just squeeze the truth outta the guy?¨

-¨After we change his heart¨ Ren said

-¨That plan is fine by me¨ Haru said

-¨Let´s send out the calling card and take his Treasure then¨ Morgana said ¨You can decide when we do so Joker¨

And so, they returned to the real world

* * *

 **9/20 Tuesday**

The following day, Ren wanted to reunite in order to send the calling card, but he got a message from Makoto, she wanted to talk to him, so after classes were over, he headed towards the Student Council Room

-¨Hey, what´s up?¨ Ren asked

-¨Eiko´s boyfriend, Tsukasa, has been sending me a lots of texts recently¨ she replied distress

-¨What?¨

-¨His days and nights are reversed due to his work, so he often sends me a good morning late at night

-¨Do you think he likes you?¨ Ren asked worried

-¨I´m not sure. I´d definitely tell Eiko if he asked me on a date. But for now things are generally pretty normal. Mostly messages like how´s ur bf and hope u had a gr8 day 2day. Do you think their relationship could actually be serious? Was I just biased to think that all he wants from Eiko is her money?¨

-¨Maybe, I mean, this sounds a lot like a TV show¨

-¨That is true. A lying host that tricks women into debt, then forces them to sell their bodies¨ she clenched her fists ¨But those kinds of things exist in reality as well. Immoral hosts, human trafficking rings. My father even mentioned to me about gangs of men that look specifically for dressed women in Shinjuku¨

That part caught Ren´s attention

-¨They take advantage of the loneliness those girls feel to force them into horrible abusive situations. And after ensuring the girls are buried in crippling debt, they make them sell their bodies to pay it off. There are other ways they force girls into it as well. Blackmail, illegal immigration. There are countless victims of schemes like that… Countless gangs as well. My father was going after a particularly notorious one when¨

She paused, looking down at the floor, her expression filled with pain as she sat down

-¨Makoto?¨ Ren said worried as he sit next to her

-¨In the course of his investigation, he was hit by an errant truck. The impact killed him instantly¨

Ren´s eyes went wide in shock

-¨At first it was thought to be an accident. But at the funeral, I overheard my father´s supervisor speaking with my sister. He was saying my father had likely been assassinated. They suspected that the gang he was investigating hired the driver¨

-¨Who was their leader?¨ Ren asked

-¨I don´t know. The driver died on impact as well… but apparently they found drugs in his bloodstream¨

A terrifying thought crossed Ren´s mind

-¨Either way, that gang has been pushed back into the shadows thanks to the Shinjuku clean-up operation, until one day, the leader of that gang was captured, giving death sentence. I am not sure any of that would have happened if not for the incident with my father¨

-¨He was a noble man¨

Makoto nod ¨He truly was, wasn´t he? I wish I could be a little more like him myself… Instead, I´ve just been hesitant. That´s actually why my sister became a prosecutor to begin with. She couldn´t stand by and watch as evil prevailed over justice. That passion came undoubtedly came from our father. Our mother passed away many years back, so when father was killed, we had to survive on our own. The responsibility… the pressure of that fell on my sister. Because of that, she can´t help but talk down on our father at times… She says death is no different than surrender¨

Ren frowned at that

-¨But… I still look up to him. I was often lonely because of how much time he spent at work, but seeing him tirelessly pursue one case after the next was nothing short of incredible¨ she wiped a tear form her face ¨I… miss him a lot¨

-¨Makoto¨

-¨Sorry, we should focus on what is important, after all¨

She was cut as Ren wrapped her in a hug

-¨Huh?¨

-¨You are important, and I can see your tears, cry if you need to, I am here¨

Makoto wanted to say that she didn't need to, but in Ren´s embrace, she felt safe, she always did felt like that with him, so, little by little, the tears and sobbing came, with Ren gently patting her head

After a few minutes, Makoto recomposed herself

-¨Sorry, your shirt is all wet now¨

-¨Don´t worry about that, how are you?¨

-¨I am a little better, thanks to you Ren¨

-¨Don´t mention it, your father does sounds like someone admirable, you know?¨

-¨Yeah, come to think of it, there was something he used to say to me all the time… the most important part of your life is how you choose to live it¨ she went quiet ¨How have I chosen to live? And more importantly, how do I want to live?¨

-¨You can figure that out now¨

-¨Now?... You´re right. I can still change my path going forward¨

-¨I know you can¨

-¨Again, sorry for going so off topic, but you know, I´ve never talked actually talked to anyone about my father, it´s such a painful memory to look back on, but I feel comfortable discussing it with you. And beyond that, I think I understand my life a bit better now… So, thank you Ren¨

-¨Again, don´t mention it¨

-¨No, I meant it, you are always there when I need it, you are…¨

-¨Makoto?¨ Ren was confused

-¨You are the person I trust the most¨

That comment made Ren´s cheeks blush a bit

-¨I mean it, don´t get me wrong, of course I trust Ann and the others, but I trust you even more, sometimes even more than my own sister, despite our rough beginning, you are always there for me¨ the more she talked, the faster her heart beat?

-¨Makoto¨ Ren smiled ¨Thank you, that means a lot, I also trust you a lot, I will always help you¨

-¨What a relief to hear, you are my most precious friend¨

A part of him hated that word, friend, he wanted more, but he can´t tell her that

-¨Thank you¨ he then realized that they are still hugging ¨Oh, sorry, I should let you go¨

-¨Huh? Oh, yeah¨

And so they did

Makoto phone ringed, it was Eiko

-¨It says ¨Mayb I´ll like, skip college n just get married 2 Tsukasa instead. I guess she´s choosing how she wants to live too. As long as she´s sure she is happy¨ and then she got another message, which contents surprise her ¨U serious abt Ren-kun? Wanna hav a double wedding?¨

Marriage? Did Ren hear right? That would only be possibility if the girls he is in love with felt the same, but that wasn´t the case, but he jokingly said ¨I am game if you are¨

Makoto just giggled at his joke ¨Don´t be ridiculous. I couldn´t even begin to think about marriage at this point in my life. By the way, can you keep pretending to be my boyfriend for a bit longer? That is the best method I have of keeping tabs on Eiko and Tsukasa¨

Of course she said that, that is what it has always been since the beginning, this is only a favor he is doing, and he should just accept it, but he can´t, he wants to be her real boyfriend, and he hated himself for how much he desired what was impossible

-¨Sure¨

-¨At any rate, thanks for listening to me today. I´ll let you know if anything urgent comes up¨

-¨Ok¨

-¨Now let´s go, we are meeting with the others after all¨

-¨You go ahead, I have to use the bathroom, meet you at the gate¨

And so he walked away, leaving Makoto alone

-¨Ren¨ she remembered what she just told him, how much she truly trusts his, her heart was going crazy, but why? She is happy with him, he makes her feel special, he makes her feel safe, she then remembering asking him to keep pretending being her boyfriend

-¨Pretending¨ she whispered

Why she didn´t like that word anymore?

Meanwhile, Ren was in the bathroom, one part caught his attention, who mas Makoto´s dad, and how he died

-¨A cop dying during a human trafficking group investigation¨ he said and began to think of a man in jail, and why he was there ¨No, it can´t be¨ he was scared ¨It has to be a joke¨

He began to breath heavily, if that was the true, then

-¨Stop it Ren, there is just no way¨

He shook his head, it can´t be, it is just impossible, he washed his face and left the bathroom to meet with the others

* * *

 **9/22 Thursday**

After sending the card, the gang returned to the Palace, after a brief chasing, they catch up with Shadow Okumura, who started the timer to blow up his station

-¨Welp, looks like we caught up to you, Mr. Ceo¨ Ryuji said

-¨I¨ the shadow said and fall to his knees ¨I´m sorry! I´ve had a change of heart! I´ll prove it!¨

-¨Father¨ Haru said confused

-¨Haru, you were always so agreeable, whether it was in school or after, you only ever did as I said… You´ve become so admirable¨

-¨What´s gotten into him?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Ah yes. Do you remember, Haru? You cried your eyes out when my work kept me from attending your first sports day. Honestly… You had me worried. Still, you stood up against me and become an independent young woman. Nothing could make a father happier than seeing that!¨

-¨You still remember something that happened so long ago?¨ Haru was touched ¨Back then, you poured your heart into making delicious food. You wanted to bring joy to others. Why did you change?¨

-¨F-Forgive me Haru? But I would never last if my treasure was stolen! Please don´t do it, I'm begging you!¨

The thieves looked at each other and walked towards the shadow

-¨Father¨ Haru said ¨Let´s end it here¨

-¨Ah… Haru¨ he then smiled ¨You foolish girl¨ he took out a control and trapped the thieves into a force shield, except for Morgana, who jumped out in time

-¨What?!¨ Haru was shocked

-¨Overcome failure at any cost, even if it means betraying others… that is our family motto! The cold reality of kicking people down is part of business! Virtues and sentiments are for losers. What happiness can be found in acting with justice but losing the battle?¨

-¨What happiness can be found though profit gained by crushing the hearts of others!?¨

-¨Better that than fail! I´d much rather destroy others than wallow in the misery of debt. Regardless, I shall soon set sail into the political realm. To the upper echelons of the world! To utopia! My name shall be etched in the annals of history! Make your decision Haru. If you cast them away, I´ll let you join me on this ship¨

His daughter only gave him the back and began to walked towards her friends

-¨You fool¨ the shadow took out a gun

-¨Noir!¨ Makoto yelled

The shadow pointed at Morgana ¨What about you there? You are fighting against the others, are you not?¨

-¨Hmph, so you were spying on us¨

-¨You´ll gain nothing by staying with them… That´s what you believe, isn´t it? Sell them out! Cut them off for your own personal gain!¨

Morgana stayed quiet

-¨Mona?¨ Ren asked

The cat began to laugh

-¨Don´t take me for such a fool. Everything´s gains and losses for you, isn´t it? I pity you, Mr. CEO. You live with Haru for seventeen years and you still haven´t realized. In this world, there are tons of things that money and fame can´t buy! What point would there be in only saving myself!? Nobody could replace these guys, period! You know what that means? Your offer was a no-go from the start!¨ he took out his slingshot and fired, taking the control away from Okumura, and releasing the thieves

-¨Whoa! I did it! Way to go me!¨

The thieves proceed to cheer Morgana and pat him

-¨So much for negotiation¨ the shadow said ¨Rebels, there is still time before launch… I will crush you all!¨ he then sit on his floating chair

-¨Very well then¨ Yusuke said

-¨Bring it!¨ Ann said

-¨You little!... YOU WON´T GET OUT ALIVE¨

The thieves got ready

-¨Executive Director! Come to me!¨ he snapped his fingers and revealed the black suit robot ¨fulfill your duty as my right-hand man! For the eternal prosperity of Okumura Foods¨

-¨I am thou¨ Yusuke summon his Persona a, who delivered a powerful cut

-¨I´ll use my Persona¨ Makoto ride her bike and released a nuclear orb at the robot

-¨Persona¨ Haru called Milady and used Triple Down, dealing triple gun damage

-¨Kkuri-Hime¨ Ren summon another Persona and raised his team defense

The robot began to charge energy, and suddenly, form an energy blast that have the shaped of a burger with fries and sodas, he fired it at the thieves, but they dodge it without problems

-¨What?!¨ Okumura was shocked

-¨No offense, but the one at the restaurant is way harden than that¨ Ren taunted ¨White Rider!¨ he called the skeleton horse rider archer, who fire a shower of arrows, destroying it

Okumura tried to called anybody to help him, but there was nothing

-¨Father, you have been forsaken by your own employers¨ Haru said with pity

The thieves performed a final attack and finally took down Okumura

-¨In the end, I am just one more in a lineage of failures. I will contact your fiancé and rescind the marriage offer. This may be the end of Okumura Foods… Forgive me Haru¨

-¨Father¨ Haru said

-¨You were behind all breakdowns and mental shutdowns, weren´t you?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨I admit, I spent a large sums of money to help my company grow, and to crush my business competitors¨

-¨Answer me, dammit! Did you do it or not!?¨

-¨N-Not personally! I had a contract. All I did was make the requests to have them eliminated!¨ the thieves were stunned upon that revelation

-¨Requests!?¨ Morgana asked ¨Then there really is a mysterious criminal in people´s Palace after all!¨

-¨So it´s true¨ Makoto said

-¨What kind of contract did you form… and with whom?¨ Haru asked

Okumura began to cry

-¨C´mon, stop cryin and tell us¨ Ryuji said

The Palace began to shake

-¨Dammit, why now?¨ Morgana said ¨ , can´t you stop that thing!?¨

The Palace shook harder

-¨Oh well, we can´t just throw our lives like this¨

The treasure descended, and they took it

The Palace began to crumble

-¨We´ll just have to inquire about it back in the real world¨ Makoto said

And they began to ran

-¨Shouldn´t we bring Father with us!?¨ Haru asked

-¨Don´t worry, he´ll be fine! We´ll end up dead if we´re not out of here soon though!¨

Eventually, the two left, leaving the shadow alone, it was over

Until

He felt something, a pain in his chest, he looked down, there was a whole in it, and a bullet in the floor, he was shot

-¨My… Uto… pia¨ he said as life began to fade away from him ¨

A mysterious figure with a black mask showed up, chuckling at the sight

With one final shot, the shadow was gone, it died

* * *

The thieves managed to return to the real world, barely

-¨We did a great job in there¨ Morgana said proudly

-¨You know Morgana, you seemed almost normal when you took the Treasure¨ Ann said

-¨Oh… The truth behind the mental shutdowns remains unsolved though. Okumura wasn´t the culprit. Still, he did mention requesting people to be eliminated. He has to know who´s responsible¨

-¨Mom¨ Futaba said sad, remembering that they are the ones who took her mom away from her

Suddenly, there was a plastic box at the floor

-¨His Treasure… was a plastic model kit?¨ Ann asked

Futaba began to look up on her phone

-¨I remember father telling me something before he changed¨ Haru said ¨He said there was a model kit he really wanted back when he was a child. But no matter how much he begged my grandfather, he never got it¨

-¨Your family could get like a thousand of those kits though¨ Ryuji said

-¨Okumura Foods has been around for generations, but it was a small company until my father took over. My grandfather was a good man, but not the best business man, he´d even lend money with no collateral. It seems debt collectors were a frequent presence when my father was young¨

-¨That must be why¨ Yusuke said ¨Why Okumura was so willing to pursue his own happiness at the expense of others¨

* * *

And after that, the thieves went home, once Ren was on his, he let Morgana on his room and excused himself to the bathroom, where he dialed a number

On an apartment back at Yokohama, there it was Hiro, Ren´s older brother, whose phone ringed

-¨Hello¨

-¨Hiro, hi¨

-¨Ren, what´s up?¨

-¨I need a favor¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨You know I have to go back home for a meeting with my probation officer, right?¨

-¨Yes¨

-¨….I need you to arrange a visit to a prisoner, I need to see dad¨

That request made Hiro froze

-¨W-What? Why?¨

-¨It´s complicated, I´ll explain once I am there¨

-¨Does it have to do with the Niijimas?¨

-¨How did you?¨

-¨I also did my research, I´ll tell you when you are here, I´ll arrange the visit, ok?¨

-¨Thank you bro, I have to go, love you¨

-¨Me too¨

And Ren hung up, and look at the ceiling

-¨Please, let me be wrong with this¨

* * *

Meanwhile, there was a bald man at his office

-¨While necessary, we have lost a source of income, we need to find a way to replace him¨ he then remembered someone ¨It is time for him to get to work¨ he took out a phone and called somebody

-¨Yes?¨ someone said, it was a female voice

-¨I have a work for you¨

* * *

 **ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I AM BACK BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!**

 **Seriuosly, i am ashamed that it has been a year and a half since my last chapter update, so much happen, JOKER IN SMASH, ROYAL STUFF, DMC5, RE2R, so many things**

 **Once more, send a thank you to my friend Ariel on twitter, without him, this chapter could not have been possible**

 **But i am really srorry, i took way too long, there is no excuse for that, i made you all wait more than i should have, my sincerest apologies and tahnk you all for sticking with me, you guys are the best, i love you all so much**

 **And let us see, we have the infiltration (i skipped the puzzles and such as a reward for you guys, didnt want to bored you with all of that) and hoo boy there were some highlights, Ren and Haru conversations, be ready because i have something up my sleep for thos two**

 **But most importantly, Ren and Makoto, Ren conforting her, and Makoto is feeling something, what could it be?**

 **And Ren is fearing something, after hearing what he heard about Makoto dad,speaking of dad, get ready because in next episode, we are getting Ren dad debut, the two will meet, and quite the conversation will happen, and Hiro has something up his sleeve as well**

 **speaking of next chapter, the reason as to why i made the theives complete the palace so fast is because i need the free day for confidants and establish some lements that will be importamt, and we are also having a celebration, do you guys like birthday parties? because there will be one**

 **As usual, thank you all for reading, leave revieews or send me a PM with oyur thoughts, seee you alll**

 **Honeslty, i am not sure, i still have doubts about wheter to continue or not, with Royal so close, so we ll see**

 **Peace**


	18. Revelations

**Shoutout to** Tesla-Rolex and JostineKyok14 for their help with this chapter

Pleasem enjoy

* * *

 **9/23 Friday**

The following day, after classes, Ren and Makoto meet up with Futaba at Ren´s room in order to help her with her ¨training¨, so to speak

-¨Well, we are here¨ Makoto said ¨What do you want to do Futaba?¨

-¨I think I wanna try going somewhere else sometime, I mean, Akihabara was lots of fun, despite what happened¨

-¨True, you did get the game you wanted¨ Ren added

-¨The gym, I have to admit, it was also good, though I can live without the sore muscles¨

-¨That will pass once you get used to it¨ Makoto said

-¨I know¨ and then she went quiet

-¨What´s the matter?¨ Ren asked

-¨Well you see, it really sounds like Sojiro wants me to go back to school¨

-¨Really?¨ Makoto asked surprised

-¨Yeah¨ then the hacker pouted ¨But online classes are better for studying! I wouldn´t even have to leave the house¨

-¨That wouldn´t solve anything¨ Ren said

-¨I have to agree¨ Makoto said ¨The purpose of all we are doing is to help you go outside Futaba¨

-¨Oh come on, I would be able to attend classes without even getting out of bed!¨

Ren and Makoto shook their heads

-¨Though… I dunno if Sojiro´d really consider that going to school¨ she let out a sigh ¨To be honest, I really do wanna go back, do you guys think I'll be able to?¨

-¨If we work together¨ Ren said with a small smile

-¨Indeed, we promised to help you¨ Makoto reassured her

-¨Yeah¨ Futaba smiled ¨I´m gonna do my best¨ she stood up ¨Oh, I should make a promise list!¨

-¨A promise list?¨ Ren asked

-¨Yeah, my mom used to have me do that all the time. She´d write all my goals for the month, like cleaning the house or running errands for her. Then when I´d finish one, she´d mark it off with a big stamp. She always used to write best comments too… those were the best. Oh, and once I finished all my goals, she would take a day off work to spend time with me¨ she smiled with determination ¨It´s decided! I´m gonna make a promise list!¨

-¨I like the idea¨ Makoto said ¨Writing down your goals is a good way to organize yourself, not to mention that is sure to help you keep you motivated, let´s get to it¨

After a few minutes, the list was done

-¨All done!¨ the hacker said ¨So, these are my promises. 1. Go somewhere with lots of people. Getting used to crowds is the key. 2. Go to school. I wanna see what the inside of a high school looks like, I was thinking we can start with Shujin, what do you guys think?¨

-¨Sounds good to me¨ Ren said

-¨I agree¨ Makoto said ¨After all, we attend that school, so it might ease you if you see familiar faces¨

-¨3. Learn about my generation. I definitely need more info. 4. Have a normal conversation with a stranger of my age, how does that sound?¨

-¨I think it is good¨ Makoto said

-¨Yeah¨ Ren said ¨Though I am not sure about the talk with a stranger one, how do you plan to do that?¨

-¨I don´t know, you guys know lots of people, introduce me to someone, and by the way, I´m not setting a deadline for this, I wanna try and finish all of them someday!¨

-¨Sound like we have our mission¨ Ren said

-¨You two ´re gonna have to help me though. I´ll work even harder with my navigation in return!¨

-¨Of course Futaba¨ Makoto said

-¨S-So, um¨ the hacker hesitated

-¨Yes?¨ Ren asked

-¨If I finish all the promises, do you think I could have a reward?¨

-¨A reward?¨ Makoto asked

-¨I know it´s kinda weird to ask… But having a reward waiting at the finish line will totally push me onward!¨

-¨I see¨

-¨I think it is a good idea, we did bought her a game last time, so each time she finishes a promise, we give her a small one, and once all are done, the bigger one, how does that sound Makoto?¨

She put her hand on her chin ¨Ok, that ought to keep you motivated, but keep in mind that you are doing this to also growth, not for material things only, ok? I know you can do this¨

-¨Of course, I got this!¨

-¨Anyway, shall we start now?¨

-¨Well, I´m kinda exhausted from making the list, sooo¨

The duo shook their heads in amusement

-¨We can start another day, no problem¨ Ren said

-¨Thank you¨

* * *

 **9/24 Saturday**

The following day, the trio meet up at Leblanc in order to start the promise list

-¨Okeydokey¨ Futaba said with enthusiasm ¨Let´s get started on this promise list. The first one is to go somewhere with lots of people. Ooh, I´ve got the perfect place!¨

-¨Which is?¨ Ren asked

-¨Akibahara Wars: Revenge of the Futaba!¨

Ren laughed at Futaba´s mission made, while Makoto just sweat

-¨That is quite the name¨ she said

-¨You´re going to Akihabara?¨ Sojiro asked ¨Be careful out there¨

They arrived at the electrical appliances store

-¨Here we are¨ Makoto said ¨Are you ready Futaba?¨

The hacker took a deep breath ¨I can do this, just walk and look at the devices, no different than online shopping¨

-¨Yeah, we are right behind you if you need us¨ Ren said

The trio began to walked through the store

-¨Looks like A/C are on sale¨ Futaba said

-¨Considering that we are close to fall they probably want to sell all they can¨ Makoto said ¨How are you holding up by the way?¨

-¨I can… handle it, all the other customers are just minding their business, so it ´is ok they are not approaching me¨ she looked at a nearby tablet ¨Hey, do you see that tablet? Whoever drew that picture was a real pro. Not as good Inari though. He´s got a particularly pervy view on art¨

-¨Well, he did try to draw Ann naked¨ Ren said, reminiscing the time where he met Yusuke

-¨He tried to what?!¨ Futaba asked shocked

-¨Long story, probably Ann won´t like it if I tell you¨

-¨Huh, that Inari has more guts than I thought¨

-¨At least you are giving him a compliment¨ Makoto added, somewhat confused

Suddenly, all other customers began to moved

-¨Wh-Whoa, what´s going on?!¨

-¨There´s a super-limited sale at the PC section!¨ the announcer said

The trio got overwhelmed by the buyers who wanted to buy stuff, this caused them to got split up

-¨Well, that was intense¨ Ren said somewhat shaken ¨Are you ok Makoto?¨

-¨Y-Yes¨ she said somewhat shaken as well ¨It was unexpected but¨ then she realized of something ¨Where is Futaba?¨

Ren looked at his surroundings

-¨She is gone¨

-¨She must have got separated from us¨

But before they moved, Ren´s phone ringed, it was Futaba

-¨Mayday, mayday¨ her voiced sounded scared ¨I´m trapped in the home appliance kingdom… The Three Terabyte War rages on outside… There are just… so many people… I don´t know if I can last much longer¨

-¨Take deep breaths, Futaba¨ Ren said ¨We¨

But the call cut out

-¨We have to go for her, now!¨ Makoto said worry

But before they moved

-¨Ah!¨ Futaba yelled

Ren and Makoto turned around and saw her standing a few feet away

-¨Futaba!¨ Ren said

-¨You are not hurt, are you?!¨ Makoto asked

-¨There you are!¨ Futaba said while panting ¨I… I,I¨

-¨Easy there¨ Makoto said while panting her hair ¨We are here now¨

-¨Yeah, though we were about to come find you¨ Ren added

-¨O-Oh¨ Futaba smiled a bit ¨Thanks, though I didn´t think I was gonna see you until the end of time, but then I thought about you two while I was wandering around the store, and bam, a wild Ren and Makoto appeared!¨

-¨Well, it is good to see you again¨ Ren reassured her

-¨Indeed¨ Makoto added

-¨So you´re relieved? What an incredible coincidence! Me too¨ she then realized of something ¨Wait a tick, I just finished a promise! Go somewhere with lots of people! Am I awesome or what!?¨

-¨True, you did manage to find us on your own, I am proud of you Futaba¨ Makoto said

-¨It´s all cause of the Three Terabyte War though! Oh, and cause you brought me here! I, Futaba Sakura, hereby thank thee!

-¨And thou are welcome¨ Ren said

-¨But¨ she got somewhat sad ¨I dunno though… I panicked hard when I was soloing that dungeon… I think not being with you too is kinda scary¨

-¨You should still feel proud of your progress Futaba¨ Makoto said ¨I know your mother will¨

-¨Yeah, but still, I´m gonna add another goal to my list: Being ok without you two around. It might be a long questline, but I´ll finish it someday¨

-¨We know you will¨ Ren said ¨Anyway, I think we are done for today, shall we head back?¨

-¨Wait, you have to pay¨ Futaba said

-¨For what?¨ Makoto asked

Futaba showed them a 3 terabyte hard drive

-¨Where did you got that?¨ Ren asked

-¨When I was lost, I guess my desire of cheap products overcame my fear, even if just a moment, this will be the reward for today´s finished promise¨

-¨We did say you will get small rewards¨ Makoto said ¨All right then¨

* * *

And once they were done, they began to head back to Leblanc

-¨When do you want to continue with your promise list?¨ Makoto asked Futaba

-¨I am not sure, I am quite tired, but I don´t mind if you guys want to do it tomorrow¨

-¨Tomorrow is not a good day for me¨ Ren said

-¨Why´s that?¨

-¨I am going back to my hometown, Yokohama¨

That part got the girls attention

-¨I am having an interview with my probationer officer, it has been almost 6 months since my arrest, so he is gonna ask us lots of questions, Sojiro is coming with me¨

-¨Wow, almost 6 months already?¨ Futaba asked surprised

-¨It is unfair that you have to go through this¨ Makoto said, somewhat angry ¨If only we could find the true assaulter, then your name will be clean¨

-¨I know, but for now there are bigger things for us to worry, I can handle a few questions and insults¨

-¨It is only worst considering who your father is, the father´s crimes are paid by the sons after all¨ Futaba said

-¨By the way, if you don't mind me asking Futaba, what ever happened to your father?¨ Makoto asked

-¨I don´t know, I don't have any memories of him, I know he abandoned mom, but I never really thought about him, not that I want to¨

-¨I see, sorry to ask you that¨

-¨It is fine¨

* * *

After leaving Futaba back at Leblanc, Ren was walking Makoto towards the station

-¨Futaba is making quite the progress, I am sure she will keep improving if we help her¨ Makoto said

-¨I am positive about it¨ Ren said ¨By the way Makoto, I´ve been curious about something¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨What was your father name?¨

Makoto was confused, she was not expecting that question ¨His name? Why do you want to know?¨

-¨Well, you have mentioned him a number of times, but you never really told us his name¨

-¨Oh yeah, guess I never did, his name was Hiroshi Niijima, I have a picture of him in my phone¨ she showed him a picture of her father

-¨He really looked like a strong yet kind man¨ Ren said

-¨He really was; I am sure he would have believed your innocence¨

-¨I am happy to hear it¨

After a few more minutes, Makoto was on the train back home, meanwhile, Ren was returning to his, having the piece of information he needed

-¨Hiroshi Niijima… I wonder if that is¨ Ren took out his phone and dialed a number ¨Hello Futaba¨

-¨Ren, what´s up?¨

-¨I need to ask you a favor¨

* * *

 **9/25 Sunday**

The following day, Ryuji created a group chat

 **Ryuji: Hey, so it Ren on his way to his hometown?**

 **Futaba: Yeah, he and Sojiro just arrived in fact**

 **Yusuke: It must be hard to him to enjoy this visit considering the circumstances**

 **Ryuji: I know, but hey, we have something more important to plan**

 **Yusuke: What?**

 **Ryuji: His birthday party**

 **Makoto: Oh yeah, it is in a few days**

 **Haru: Oh dear, I was not aware of that**

 **Ann: Did you got him something Ryuji**

 **Ryuji: Yeah, me alongside with Futaba**

 **Futaba: Yeap, some classic videogames, we payed half each**

 **Ann: Nice, I got him a good pair of jeans, what about you, Yusuke?**

 **Yusuke: I am in fact working on that, it is an artistic illustration**

 **Futaba: Really? A drawing? Well, the intention is what it counts**

 **Yusuke: How rude, I´ll have you know I am quite proud of how this is turning out**

 **Makoto: This isn´t a competition!**

 **Yusuke: My apologies, I got carried away**

 **Haru: I haven't got him anything, I didn't know his birthday was coming up**

 **Makoto: Don´t worry Haru, I am sure he will understand**

 **Haru: No, it will be inappropriate to not give him anything, I am sure I can come up with something, what about you Mako-chan?**

 **Makoto: Is a secret**

 **Futaba: Ooooh, I like the sound of that, I am sure it will be good, for your man after all**

 **Makoto: What is that supposed to mean?**

 **Futaba: Who knows? *wink***

 **Ann: Anyway, first thing first, snacks**

 **Ryuji: Is that all you think about?**

While the conversation went, Makoto cursed, she in fact forgot about Ren´s birthday

-¨ _How could I had forgotten? After all he does for me, what I am gonna do?_ ¨ until she remembered something ¨Wait, he told me about what he usually eats for his birthday, too bad I don´t have the recipe for that, but I will get it for sure¨ she started to dial a number

* * *

Meanwhile, Ren was back in his hometown, though it was not a pleasant day, he and Sojiro got bombarded with questions regarding Ren´s behavior the almost 6 months, alongside interview to his mother and his brother, but now, the worst was about to come

He and his brother were waiting at a waiting room, while Sojiro was talking to Ren´s mom

-¨Are you really sure of this?¨ Hiro asked

-¨I need to make sure of it¨ Ren said with determination

-¨The last time I saw the guy was before he left, I will personally not want to see him, he is where he deserves, but you are right, it is the only way, it will help me to see if what I gather is true¨

-¨What exactly did you gather?¨

-¨I´ll tell you once you are done¨

-¨Amamiya Ren¨ a police officer said ¨It is your turn, prisoner Daizo Amamiya is ready¨

-¨Ok¨ Ren let out a sigh ¨Here goes¨

-¨Good luck, I´ll be waiting downstairs with mom and Sojiro¨

-¨Thank you¨

And Ren entered the room, it was the prison´s visitor room, a simple beige room, there was a table with two chairs, Ren took his seat, the door opened, revealing another person

It was a man in his mid-forties, he has long black hear, a part of it covering his left-eye, where there was a scar, a small bear, black eyes, it was like an older version of Ren, after all, he looks after him while his brother does to his mother he was wearing an orange prisoner uniform

-¨Well well¨ the prisoner said with a grin ¨I couldn´t believe it when I heard it, but here you are, Ren¨ he took his eat

Ren simply look at him with disgust

-¨What do I own this pleasant surprise? Talk about unexpected guest at a tv show¨

-¨Believe me, this is anything but pleasant¨

-¨My, aren´t you angry? I can see it in your eyes, aren´t you happy to see your old man?¨

-¨I need to ask you something¨ Ren said, getting straight to the point

-¨What could be? Need your old man advice in the criminal world? After all, I hear you are on probation, not a bad start¨

-¨Shut up!¨ Ren said, angered by that

-¨Ok, fair enough, what is it that you need to ask?¨

Ren took a deep breath ¨What do you know about Hiroshi Niijima?¨

That caught Daizo´s attention ¨Oooooh, haven't heard that name in a while, where did you heard it?¨

-¨Answer my question!¨

-¨Ok, ok, calm down, you are young, but anyway, there isn´t a lot to tell, just a police officer that messed with my job, put a lot of my guys behind the bars, the guy was good, I give him that, so I had to teach him a lesson, or rather, have a truck driver teach him one, the perfect way to get rid of a pain in the ass of a cop while no finger could be laid on me, after all, the driver was high as fuck, and drugs can be found anywhere, you know?¨

That part made Ren froze, it was just like Makoto said her father died

-¨ _No… it can´t be true_ ¨

-¨My, you look scared¨ Daizo said

Ren took out his phone, and look for a picture, the picture of Makoto´s dad, he needed to be sure

-¨Was this the police officer?¨

Daizo looked at the picture ¨Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner¨

Ren was shocked

-¨No… This can´t be true¨ he whispered, his biggest fear was being confirmed

-¨Why the sudden interest in your dad´s work? Do you know something I should?¨

-¨QUIET!¨ Ren yelled ¨Why you killed an honorable man?! Do you have any idea what you caused?!¨

-¨Son, it was like a tv show, when there is a character the audience does not like, get rid of it, in this case the audience being me, but still, and besides, why you cared so much?¨

-¨You…¨ Ren now was pissed, as if this man hasn't cause him enough trouble ¨You made someone I care about suffer!¨

-¨Oh?¨ the prisoner was surprised ¨Who might that be?¨

-¨Like hell I am telling you¨

-¨Ok, didn´t really care¨

-¨I am done here¨ and he stood up and headed to the door

-¨Nice to see you, son, maybe one day we will work together, father-son crime duo¨

Ren looked at him with hate ¨I will never end like you¨ and he left the room

-¨You will¨ his father said

Ren was walking downstairs, until he stopped, he buried his face on his hand

-¨This has to be a bad joke…. Makoto´s dad died because of him¨

* * *

Ren reached the prison parking lot, where his mother, Aoi Fukuhara, his brother Hiro and Sojiro were waiting

-¨Ren¨ his mother said, Aoi was a woman in his mid-forties with brown hair tied up in a ponytail, she has blue eyes and was wearing a blue shirt with blue jeans and black shoes

They all could tell the look of pain and fear Ren had in his face

-¨Kid, what the hell happened in there?¨ Sojiro asked

-¨I think it will be better if we go to my office¨ Hiro said ¨We´ll explain everything there¨

After a ride, they were at Hiro´s, or rather, the office of the lawyer buffet where Hiro works

-¨Hiro, what is going on?¨ Aoi asked

-¨I asked dad about Hiroshi Niijima¨ Ren spoke, after not talking during the entire ride ¨He was Makoto´s father¨

Aoi and Sojiro looked at him surprised

-¨Makoto? That girl you always talk about?¨ Aoi asked

-¨What does her father has to do with this?¨ Sojiro asked

-¨3 years ago¨ Hiro said ¨I went to Tokyo with my mentor in order to have a trial there, the prosecutor for that case was Sae Niijima¨

That name made Sojiro´s eyes went wide ¨You went against her in court?!¨

-¨She is Makoto´s older sister¨ Ren informed

-¨And yes Sojiro¨ Hiro continued ¨I went against her, or so I should have¨

-¨What do you mean son?¨ Aoi asked

-¨When we showed up at court, Sae didn't, there was another prosecutor that took her place, I was curious, so after the trial I asked around to see what happened, I was informed that someone close to her died minutes before the trial, so she was called to identify the body and such¨

-¨Oh dear¨ Aoi said shocked

-¨When Ren told me about her last time I went to visit, I did some research to see if it was the same Sae, and it was, I also found out who the person that died was, it was officer Hiroshi Niijima¨

-¨But wait¨ Sojiro said ¨What does Daizo had to do with it?¨

-¨Makoto´s dad was investigating a human trafficking group¨ Ren said ¨Until he died due to impact by a truck, the driver was hired by dad, he told me that, I even showed him a picture of Makoto´s dad¨

-¨Human trafficking group?¨ his mother asked ¨The same your father led?¨

-¨Yes¨

-¨Wait¨ Sojiro said ¨You are not saying what I think you are saying, right?¨

-¨I contact a police officer I know in Tokyo and asked him for all info about how Hiroshi died, after comparing to what we have, why Sae was absent the day of the trail, what Ren and Makoto said about his death, it became clear¨ he took a deep breath ¨Our father was responsible for the death of Sae and Makoto´s dad¨

Aoi covered her mouth in fear, while Sojiro was simply shocked, Ren stood up, cursing under his breath

-¨You got to be kidding me!¨ Sojiro said

-¨Those poor girls¨ Aoi said sad

-¨This can´t be true¨ Ren said, desperation on his voice ¨Why does this had have to happened?¨

-¨Ren¨ Hiro said ¨Does Makoto know about this?¨

-¨She doesn't, I didn't start to consider the possibility until she told me about her father a few days ago, but according to her, the leader of that group was found and given death sentence, and she does not know his name, it was someone else, not dad¨

-¨What?!¨ Sojiro asked surprised

-¨That doesn´t make any sense, dad´s arrest was covered on all news programs on Yokohama, and you can find the name of Hiroshi on some local newspaper articles, why are thing different there in Tokyo?¨

-¨You think somebody tried to cover up for Daizo´s crime?¨ Aoi suggested

-¨That is a possibility¨

-¨Of course¨ Ren said with sarcasm

-¨Kid¨ Sojiro said

-¨What?¨

-¨You have to tell her the true¨

-¨What?! I can´t do that¨

-¨This is her father, Ren¨ his mom said

-¨I know, but I can´t and I won´t¨

-¨Look kid, I know how you feel about that girl, and I understand if you want to not cause her any suffering, but hiding the true is a no-no, no matter the relationship¨

-¨I know that, but what difference would it make? The criminal behind it is already behind the bars, he will never hurt anyone else, why bring up memories that will only cause her pain?¨

-¨Listen¨

-¨Look¨ Ren stopped them, tears beginning to form in his eyes ¨You are right, I cared about Makoto a lot, and yes, my feelings for her are more than those of a friend, but please, trust me on this one¨

-¨Ren¨ his mother said, feeling sad yet touched by the feelings of his son

Sojiro let out a sigh ¨Geez, you are something else, you know kid? But fine, just remember what I told you, ok?¨

-¨I know¨

-¨I am sure you have your reasons to do this Ren, I trust you¨ Hiro said with a small smile

-¨Thank you everybody¨ Ren said, feeling slightly better

-¨Anyway¨ Sojiro said ¨It´s is time for us to return to Tokyo¨

-¨Yeah¨

-¨It is too bad you can't stay longer¨ Aoi said ¨With your birthday so close¨

-¨I know mom, but it is what it is¨

-¨Are you gonna wish that Makoto gives you a kiss?¨ Hiro asked with a grin

That comment made Ren blushed

-¨Shut up¨

Everybody laughed, despite the grim atmosphere

After saying goodbye to Ren and Sojiro, Aoi arrived to her house, upon entering, her phone ringed

-¨Hello¨

-¨Good afternoon, Miss Fukuhara, my name is Makoto Niijima¨

* * *

Back at Tokyo, Sojiro and Ren entered Leblanc

-¨Geez, what a day¨ Sojiro said ¨I think I will open, even if it just for a little¨

-¨I´ll help¨ Ren said

-¨Are you sure? I don´t mind if you want to rest¨

-¨Nah, I could use something to distract myself anyway¨

Despite all odds, a customer actually showed up and ordered some food

-¨Don´t you ever get lonely, So-chan?¨ the customer said ¨You´ve been a bachelor for so long… Have you given up on marriage?¨

Sojiro just grinned ¨All I want in a relationship is spicy stimulation followed by smooth, relaxing comfort. And I can get both of those things from my curry and my coffee. That´s enough for me¨

-¨He always dodges my question like that. He´s so clever¨ she looked at Ren ¨By the way, what are your thoughts on So-chan´s life of solitude?¨

-¨To each his own¨ the probationer replied

-¨That´s a real roundabout way of showing disapproval¨ Sojiro said, somewhat offended ¨Anyway, the only thing I care about in life is making sure my customers are satisfied. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people relax in here. Come back anytime, OK?¨

And after a while, the customer was gone

-¨She seemed especially aggressive today, huh? It would´ve been bad if she pushed any further. But I guess food service relies on keeping the right distance from people, not too far, not too close¨

The door opened, somebody entered

-¨Welco¨ Sojiro said, but stopped once he realized who it was, he facepalmed ¨You just don´t know when to give up, do you?!¨

-¨Well¨ the middle aged man said rather chherfully ¨I just learned something very interesting! Futaba´s been shut off from both school and society this whole time, huh? That´s not good parenting¨

-¨Yeah?¨ Sojiro replied ¨And what have YOU done to care for her?¨

-¨You know quite well what I´ve done… and it´s about time you pay up¨

-¨Don´t be ridiculous. Futaba had a terrible life living with you… Plus I already gave you most of the inheritance for custody! Is that still not enough for you!?¨

-¨We could always find out in court. I wonder who´d win between a blood relative and a mere legal guardian¨

-¨You¨ Sojiro cursed

-¨Oh¨ the man looked at Ren ¨And not to mention that kid you have here! I´ve heard all about him and his criminal record. That leave us with a ¨parent¨ who won´t let her go to school and a delinquent housemate on probation. Doesn´t seem to be the best environment for Futaba, now does it?¨

-¨Shut your mouth¨ Ren countered angrily ¨You have no idea how much Sojiro does for her, more than you I am sure¨

-¨Y-You have a problem punk!?¨ the man replied somewhat scared ¨I´ll sue you for intimidation!¨

-¨Hey, keep your neck out of this¨ Sojiro replied ¨Just get on upstairs, OK?¨

-¨But¨

But before they could continue, Futaba entered

-¨Sojiroo, I hunger!¨ then she realized who was there, and her happy expression disappear ¨Oh…¨

-¨Futaba-chan! Long time no see!¨

Futaba walked back, shivering in fear ¨I… I… I…¨

-¨Futaba¨ Sojiro approached her, worry written on her face

-¨See what I´m saying?¨ the man said rather smugly ¨She´s a total wreck. This is clearly not a healthy situation¨

-¨She is only like this because she saw you here!¨

-¨Hmph, don´t make me repeat myself… You can´t beat me in court, so you might as well just give me the money¨

-¨Grrr¨ Sojiro greeted his teeth

-¨Well, I hope you reach the right decision! Bye now!¨ and now, the man was gone

-¨Futaba¨ Sojiro said, looking at the state the hacker was ¨You should head home for today. I´ll take you¨

-¨Sojiro¨ she said worry

After a bit, Sojiro was back

-¨How is she?¨ Ren asked concerned

-¨Futaba´s OK. All that drama must´ve tired her out… She fell asleep right after we got home¨

-¨What was that all about Sojiro?¨

Sojiro took a deep breath ¨That man… is Futaba´s uncle¨

Ren was shocked upon that revelation

-¨After Wakaba died, Futaba was passed around all her relatives… His place was the last. He treated her like garbage. He never fed her, and forced her to sleep on the floor like an animal. He didn´t even let her bathe… Once I learned that, I knew I had to step in. I couldn´t stand for that kind of horrible treatment, so I decided to take Futaba under my care¨

-¨ _Poor Futaba, living with that sort of person_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨Even back then, he was whining about all the damn expenses. I threw some cash his way, thinking that would put the issue to bed… but now he´s back for more¨ the coffee maker let out a sigh ¨I don´t even know how he managed to find me here… Maybe paying him was a mistake¨

-¨Saving Futaba was no mistake¨

-¨Heh… Thanks. I never thought you´d be the one comforting me. Either way though, it´s my fault Futaba didn´t leave her room¨

-¨Why you say that?¨

-¨I just didn´t know how to help her though it… I´d make curry, leave it by her door, and go. If not for you, I´d probably still be waiting for her to come out. So if you asked whether I deserve to be Futaba´s guardian… my answer would be no¨

-¨Sojiro¨ Ren said, feeling bad for him, if only he could tell him more, but he couldn´t without telling him about the metaverse and such

-¨They say blood´s thicker than water, right? I wonder what´d be the best for Futaba¨ he laughed bitterly ¨Look at me, spilling my heart out to a punk like you. Though it's kinda weird. For some reason, I just feel like telling you this stuff. It´s like you´re peering into my heart… Heh, I guess there really is something special about you¨

-¨Falling for me, huh?¨ Ren said jokingly

-¨Ew, not that desperate¨ Sojiro said

The duo laughed

-¨Anyway, I should be heading home. I´m still worried about Futaba. Don´t stay up to late, you hear?¨

-¨I won´t¨

-¨Oh, and… thanks¨

-¨Don´t mention it, and thank you as well, I know today was a hard day¨

-¨It is all in the past now, though I hope you know what you are doing, regarding Makoto¨ and with that, he was gone

Ren headed to his room and changed onto his pajamas, he was about to sleep, until his phone rang

-¨Hello¨

-¨Hi Ren¨ Futaba said

-¨Futaba?!¨ the trickster said surprised ¨Shouldn´t you be sleeping?¨

-¨I am using the bathroom¨

-¨Oh, how are you?¨

-¨Bit shaken but I´ll manage¨

-¨I am sorry for what happened¨

-¨It´s not your fault, anyway, how were things with your probation officer? I didn´t get to ask that¨

-¨All went well, all things considered, How is Morgana?¨

-¨He is at my room sleeping, by the way, why did you made me do that?¨

-¨Do what?¨

-¨Don´t play dumb, hacking Makoto´s phone so I could get you that picture of her father, why did you need it?¨

Ren cursed under his breath

-¨It is complicated¨

-¨I can tell that, you sound scared, come on, it is my turn to help¨

-¨I¨ true to be told, Ren needed to get it off his chest ¨Are you sure you can take it?¨

-¨I am tougher than I look¨

-¨Ok…¨ Ren took a deep breath ¨I visited my dad in jail why I was in Yokohama¨

-¨You what!?¨

-¨I needed to confirm something, and I did¨

-¨Does it have to do with Makoto´s dad?¨

-¨Yeah, my father… is the one responsible for his dead¨

Futaba´s eyes went wide in shock

-¨W-W-What!? Is… Is that true?¨

-¨Yes, Hiro arrived at the same conclusion, god, this is such a mess¨

-¨Does Makoto know this?¨

-¨No, please Futaba, you can´t tell her¨

-¨Ren, this is her dad, you can´t ask me to be quiet¨

-¨I am doing this is for her¨

-¨What do you mean?¨

-¨Futaba, the man is already behind the bars, what difference would it make? It will only remind her of sad and painful memories, and I don´t want that¨

-¨I understand that, I don´t want Makoto to suffer, especially since she is helping me, but as someone who lost her parent to the unknown, I can´t rest with something like that hidden¨

-¨I know I am asking you too much, but please¨

-¨…Fine¨ she then grinned ¨But in exchange, tell her how you feel, and make sure to kiss a lot¨

Ren facepalmed ¨You are a real devil, you know?¨

-¨True, but I am also cute, so I get a free pass¨

-¨Your next reward will be a smack on the back of the head¨

-¨Hey, no fair¨

The two laughed

-¨Thanks Futaba, I feel better now¨

-¨Don´t mention it, here is big sister Futaba to the rescue¨

-¨Excuse me, but I am older than you¨

-¨Yeah, but I am the navigator, so it is only fair¨

-¨Fair enough, good night¨

-¨Night¨

And with that, Ren went to sleep, feeling himself better, but

* * *

At Yokohama´s prison, there it was Daizo Amamiya on his cell, with a guard standing by the gate

-¨I am bored¨ the prisoner said

Suddenly

-¨Ngh¨ the guard grabbed his chest in severe pain

-¨Huh?¨ Daizo said, looking surprised at the guard

-¨Hrggg¨ the guard grunted with more pain with each second, until finally ¨Grahhhhhh!¨ his eyes started to bleed, and suddenly, he felt to the ground, nothing more than a pale corpse

-¨What the hell?¨ Daizo asked surprised

Somebody showed up, a hooded figure

-¨And you are?¨

The figure bend down and grabbed the guard´s key and proceed to open Daizo´s cell door

-¨Holy plot twist¨ the prisoner said

-¨Move¨ the figure said

-¨Yeah sure, it is almost time for my favorite show¨

Both Daizo and the hooded figure left the cellblock, as they walked towards the exit, Daizo noticed lots of corpses, both from security guards as well as some prisoners

-¨Geez, this is some hardcore gore¨

-¨We can´t allow any witnesses¨ the hooded figure said

-¨Don´t get me wrong, I am not complaining, but wish I have a camera on me, could totally make a movie out of this¨

They eventually arrived at the parking lot, where a black limousine was waiting for them

-¨Get inside¨ the figure said

Daizo entered the limo, followed by the one under the hood, inside of the car, there was two man with black suits

-¨So, does this limo have TV or something like that?¨

Suddenly, a cellphone began to ring, one of the black –suited guys handed it to Daizo

-¨It´s for you¨

Daizo took the phone and said ¨hello?¨

-¨Daizo Amamiya, it has been a while¨ someone said

Daizo was shocked to hear that voice

-¨Boss?! You are still standing? Man, talk about blast from the past¨

-¨You are as positive as ever¨

-¨Considering where I was, can´t you blame me?¨

-¨Yes, that is why I require your service once more, hence my subordinate getting out of it¨

-¨The hooded figure¨ Daizo looked at the one with the hood ¨Well, thanks, anyway, care to catch me up?¨

-¨Due to the intervention of some filthy thieves¨

-¨The Phantom Thieves¨

-¨The very same, in order to counter-measure them, we were forced to give up one of our sources of income, and that is where you enter¨

-¨Want me to get my old business back?¨

-¨Exactly, we secure you some resources for you to start right away, make sure to sell them at the highest price¨

Daizo remained quiet for a few seconds

-¨Sure, I am in, I was missing all the fun related to it¨

The mysterious voice began to laugh ¨I knew you will understand; I am in your debt, to both of you¨

-¨No need to thanks¨ the hooded figure said, and took off the hood, revealing a female face ¨It was my pleasure¨

* * *

 **9/26 Monday**

The following day, Ren was on classes, until his phone began to vibrate, he checked it, it was Hiro

-¨ _I wonder what he wants?_ ¨

The bell rang, it was lunchtime

-¨Hey Ann, can you take Morgana and my bag to where we are meeting with the others for lunch? Hiro was calling me during classes and I am heading to the bathroom to call him back¨

-¨Sure thing, see you in a few¨ and the model was gone, alongside Ren´s bag

Ren headed towards the bathroom in order to call his brother, luckily, there was no one else

-¨Hi Hiro, what´s up?¨

-¨Ren¨ Hiro said

-¨What´s wrong? You sound scared¨

-¨I need you to stay calm through this, though I can´t hardly keep myself calm¨

-¨What happened?¨

-¨…. Dad escaped from prison¨

Ren´s face turned pale as soon as he heard that, his knees were getting weaker, he rested his hand on the wall in order to have support in case he felt

-¨W-What?¨

-¨It happened last night, someone hack into the system, so there is no footage or anything like it that could tell us who got him out or how, but¨

-¨But what?¨

-¨All guards and some prisoners were killed in some way, there is no trace of gunshot or stabs, but their hearts stopped, the brain activity as well, and blood was coming out of their eyes, whoever did this definitely used a weird method¨

Ren was confused, just how could something like this happened?

-¨ _Hearts stopping, as well as brain activity? Could it be?_ ¨ Ren thought, until something hit him ¨Is mom safe? What about you?¨

-¨I am fine; mom is with police custody for the moment¨

The probationer sighed in relief

-¨But Ren, I already informed Sojiro about it¨

-¨What?!¨

-¨Ren, he is your guardian, he needs to know this sort of things, as for Makoto¨

-¨Hiro, please tell me you didn´t¨

-¨I did not, despite I knew I should, but we all decided to entrust you that to you, but Ren, be careful, I don´t like this one bit, I´ll see what I can find¨

-¨You be careful too, somebody could be watching what his sons are doing¨

-¨I know, I am sorry to drop you this, but I figure the sooner the better¨

-¨I appreciate it, I gotta go, love you¨

-¨Me too¨

Ren hang up

-¨Is this some kind of sick joke?¨ He asked in disbelief, his thoughts went immediately to Makoto ¨I can´t tell her, I definitely can´t¨

He washed his face, he needed to compose himself if he was to stand in front of his friends and to avoid any questions, the school authorities were most likely to find out, all he could hope was that they were not gonna reveal to the other students

He headed towards the benches near the vending machines, where his friends were waiting

-¨Hey¨ he said, trying to sound as calm as possible

-¨Yo¨ Ryuji said

-¨Is everything allright?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Yeah, Hiro just wanted to ask me something, nothing important¨

-¨Who is Hiro?¨ Haru asked

-¨Ren´s older brother¨ Ann said

-¨Oh my, I always wanted an older brother, you are so lucky Ren, I hope I get to meet him one day¨

-¨I am sure you will¨

* * *

The rest of the lunch as well as the school day was done, but

-¨Huh?¨ Ren said surprised

There it was, Futaba, who looked like she would pass out any second now

-¨F-utaba?¨ Makoto asked shocked ¨What are you doing here?¨

-¨Well, there is the next promise of my list, going to school, so I decided to drop by, I wanted to surprise you guys, but, to be fair, my fear is beating so fast that it might explode¨

-¨Do you still want to come in?¨

-¨Ummm¨ the hacker was scared ¨Can I use a Goho-M instead?¨

-¨Let´s do this together¨ Ren said

-¨I was hoping you´d say that¨

-¨I´m sure you´ll be fine¨ Makoto said ¨Most of the students have already left, and all the teachers are in a meeting, and I can use my authority as student council president to avoid any problems that may arise¨

-¨You´re incredible!¨ Futaba said excited ¨If I´ve got you two with me, this place is gonna be as easy as fighting a trash mob!¨

-¨That´s a good thing, right? Anyway, come on. We´ll show you around the school¨

Their first stop was the cafeteria

-¨This is the cafeteria¨ Makoto said ¨Where some students choose to eat lunch¨

-¨Lunch¨ Futaba said, reminiscing some sad memories ¨That reminds me of this time I was the only kid who didn´t get a pudding with my meal. Oh, and this other time I ate a strawberry with ketchup on it. I didn´t notice it ´cause they´re both red. It was really gross¨

Ren and Makoto exchanged looks of pity for the poor girl´s experiences

-¨U-Um, anyway… the cafeteria´s pretty boring, huh? Let´s move on¨

Their next stop was the school library

-¨This is the school library¨ Makoto said ¨We have all the regular academic here: textbooks, encyclopedias, study guides… But we also have a few manga and light novels at the request of some especially vocal students¨

-¨So many books¨ The hacker said

-¨Do you like to read Futaba?¨ Ren asked

She gave a sad nod ¨Back in elementary school, I memorized the tittles of all the books on a shelf in just one glance¨

-¨That is impressive¨ Makoto said

-¨The other kids thought I was making it up when I told them though. But then when I recited all the titles to prove it… they just laughed and called me a freak¨

Once more, Ren and Makoto exchange looks of concern

-¨Am I weird, you guys?¨

-¨No¨ Makoto said

-¨I bet they were just surprised¨

-¨No. They were totally creeped out. Ugh… School is the worst¨

-¨W-Well, should we move along?¨ Makoto suggested ¨Only the classrooms remain… Though on second thought, maybe we should pass on those today¨

They decided to head back to the entrance

-¨I´m sorry, Futaba¨ Makoto said, feeling guilty

-¨Don´t be. It´s my fault. I remembered all that sad stuff on my own¨

Then Ren came up with an idea

-¨Here is something to cheer you up¨ he looked around, there was no one, and proceed to take a calling card out of his wallet ¨Here you go¨

-¨What is this?¨ Futaba asked

-¨That´s¨ Makoto said surprised ¨That is the calling card delivered to Kamoshida¨

-¨What?!¨

-¨Yeah, I kept it as a souvenir, and now is yours Futaba¨

-¨Wait, you mean to tell me I am having a memento of the Phantom Thieves first operation?!¨ she began to jump in excitement ¨This is awesome! Screw free dlc content, this is a true bonus¨

-¨I am glad you like it¨

-¨Ren¨ Makoto was touched by Ren´s kindness, it was something so amazing about him ¨Honestly Futaba, it´s clear how much you´ve improved recently. Coming to school like this is a huge breakthrough, you´re doing great, right, Ren?¨

-¨Of course¨

-¨Wait, so you´re happy with me even though I got totally depressed?¨ the hacker asked shocked ¨Is this like that saying about when life gives you lemons? Maybe I could make lemonade for the Phantom Thieves! Er, figuratively speaking¨

-¨That would be wonderful¨ Makoto said with a proud smile ¨I´m sure you would make a lot of friends if you decided to come to school now, Futaba¨

-¨Friends¨ she said sad

-¨Futaba?¨ Ren asked confused

-¨Oh, uh… nothing!¨

-¨If you say so, anyway, I have to go to buy some stuff, see you tomorrow Ren, take care as well Futaba¨

-¨Bye¨

And she was gone

-¨Anyway, shall we head back¨

-¨Actually, there was something I want to talk to you about¨

-¨What is it?¨

-¨…... Sojiro told me, about your father´s escape¨

Ren´s eyes went wide in shock

-¨He told me in order to keep my eyes open in case something strange happens¨

-¨I… I see¨

-¨Ren, now is the time, you have to tell Makoto the truth¨

-¨I can´t, and you promise not to¨

-¨That was when the guy was locked, this is different, if you are not going to, then I will¨

-¨Futaba, please¨ Ren begged ¨Don´t do it¨

-¨Why not?¨

-¨BECAUSE I AM TRYING TO PROTECT HER!¨

There was a silence between the two, he had finally said it

-¨Ren¨ Futaba realized that there were still some students watching ¨We should get out of here¨

It took a while, but they arrived at the dinner

-¨Sorry for yelling at you¨ Ren said, wiping a tear from his eye

-¨It is fine, but… what do you mean by that?¨

Ren let out a sigh

-¨Back when we were dealing with Kaneshiro, Makoto put her life in risk so that we could find him, she literally went alone to a mafia hideout, and when we found her, she was lying on the floor, her hands restrained, we arrived in time, but… But I ask myself what if we didn´t? she would have been sold to a random creep, someone who will rape her, drug her, use her, I hear lots of stories from the sorts of crimes my father committed with his group, and I¨

-¨I?¨

-¨I got so scared Futaba, I was so relieved when we stop Kaneshiro, but it made me realized of something, of how reckless can Makoto be, even if not on purpose, imagine what she would do if she finds out that the one who got her father killed is out there? She will probably chase him on her own, whether with the metaverse or not, and she will risk herself. That is why… I don´t want to tell her the truth, I don´t want her to see her in that sort of danger, it is one thing when we are doing our thieves activities, but, she has suffered so much, I just want to see her happy¨

-¨Ren¨ Futaba was shocked ¨You really care for her, right?¨

-¨I do¨

-¨…. I won´t tell her¨

Ren was surprised

-¨After telling me something like that, how could I? And I also want to protect her, she really is amazing, and in the end, this is not something that falls on to me, you know?¨

Ren let out a sigh ¨Thank you Futaba, sorry, you shouldn't be burn with this¨

-¨It is fine, I owe you all a lot¨

After that, they headed home

* * *

 **9/27 Tuesday**

The following day, Makoto got a text from Eiko, she wanted to meet up to ask her something, so she alongside Ren met at a restaurant, this also gave them a good opportunity for the other to prepare something

-¨So, what did you want to talk about?¨ Makoto asked

-¨Well, um…¨ the girl was nervous ¨I was wondering if you could maybe lend me some cash¨

Ren and Makoto were surprised to hear that request

-¨What!?¨ Makoto asked

-¨It´s nothing real major, but I need it like, right now… I´ll pay you back though, honest! Pleeease!¨

-¨Does this have to do with Tsukasa?¨

-¨Mm-hm, he dropped a super expensive bottle of sake at work, so the club´s making him pay for it… but he needs help¨

Makoto frowned ¨He´s lying to you, Eiko. Don´t give him any money¨

-¨He´s not lying! I know you´re all weird about the fact he´s a host, but my Tsukasa´s not like that! He´s really gentle, and honest too. He even calls me princess, I´m the only one he says that to, y´know, he says it´s cause I'm special¨

-¨So he calls you his special princess¨ then Makoto looked at Ren ¨What do you think, Ren?¨

-¨I´m pretty sure he says that to all his girls¨

-¨I have to agree. Every girl who gives him money is his princess. That way he can never get their names mixed up¨

-¨Don´t accuse him of that stuff!¨ Eiko yelled ¨You don´t have any proof¨

-¨You´re not wrong about that. But did you ask anyone at his club about the broken bottle¨

-¨W-Well, um… no… He told me not to talk to them about it though! He´s too proud to have me go crying to his boss. Please Makoto, you´re the only one I can trust. All my other friends would rather focus on cram school and entrance exams than take time to help me. And who knows what my parents´d say if I tried to ask them. Please, even a little¨

-¨I think you should end your relationship with him. If you don´t put a stop to this, he might try to drag you into some suspicious line of work¨

-¨Oh, he already got me a job. It´s nothing weird though. I´m just serving drinks at a bar to help him pay off that broken bottle. He said I´ll be number one in no time, Maybe I´ll just keep doing it after I graduate from high school though. I mean, it´s not like I´m gonna go to college¨

-¨Eiko¨ Makoto said shocked ¨You can´t just do what he says! He´s trying to deceive you!¨

-¨A smart person like you totally wouldn´t understand what it´s like. You´re just gonna go to a good college, work at a fancy company, and then what? At the end of the day, your life is gonna be totally boring, I mean, is that seriously how you wanna live?¨

That hit a spot

-¨Makoto¨ Ren said worry

-¨I… I´m not sure yet. But be that as it may, you should still stay as far away from him as you can¨

-¨So you´re not gonna help me? Ugh, just forget it. I can make it up if I just let some customers take me out on dates after work¨

-¨Eiko, wait! I didn´t want to have to tell you this, but Tsukasa has been texting me almost constantly. Recently he´s been asking if my sister and I live alone, and that he´d be glad to help us out. Even today he asked me if I´m still happy with my boyfriend… Listen to me, Eiko: He´s not serious about you¨

-¨Don´t gimme that crap! Tsukasa´s just so nice that he´d worry about my friends for me¨ and then she realized ¨Wait, you were texting him behind my back? What the hell, Makoto!?¨

-¨She is just worry for you¨ Ren whispered, getting angrier at Eiko´s attitude

-¨It was mostly him texting me¨ Makoto said with shame

-¨Ugh! You have the grades, the looks, a cool boyfriend… and you seriously still want more!?¨

-¨All she wants is to protect her friend¨ Ren finally interfered ¨Maybe instead of worrying about a random ass boy, you should appreciate your friend more¨

-¨Ren¨ Makoto said in disbelief

-¨You mind your own business. Tsukasa is all I have. You can´t take him from me!¨

-¨That is not what I´m trying to do¨

-¨Yeah right. Just keep your hands off!. I´d never forgive you if you stole him away, Makoto!¨

And she stormed out of the place

-¨Tsukasa is all she has?¨ Makoto asked in disbelief ¨You know, I think she´s exactly the kind of girl those gangs in Shinjuku are on the lookout for. Lonely, depressed girls who have nowhere to vent their frustrations¨

-¨ _I know about that_ ¨ Ren thought

-¨Eiko´s family is quite well off. Her multi-talented younger brother seems to be the sole focus of her parents´ attention though. I´m sure that´s why she fell for Tsukasa in the first place. He treats her like she´s special. But asking a high schooler for money isn´t normal boyfriend behavior. She needs to realize that. You´re going to help, right?¨

-¨Do you really need to ask? Of course I will¨

-¨Thank you. It´s reassuring to hear you say that. Eiko´s blessed to have both money and a family… yet she´s still trying to break free from them. She is almost the exact opposite of me. But I guess in a sense, watching her now is almost like looking back at my past self. I was so blinded by my own convictions that I never stopped to consider other alternative viewpoints on the world. But… that´s not the right way to live. I want to show her that, just like you did for me¨

-¨I appreciate the compliment, I'm sure you will¨

-¨I know she wants me to stay out of her business, but I´d never forgive myself if I let this come to pass… what is the right way to live?¨

-¨Makoto¨

-¨At any rate, we´re going to catch that horrible host. I´ll let you know once I´ve thought of how to do it¨

-¨Ok, I gotta go, got some errands to do, see ya¨

-¨Bye¨ and Ren was gone ¨What is he going to do? Whatever, I better go and help the others¨

* * *

Ren was on his way to certain place, he needed to make Eiko realize of how much others care for her

At the After School Saloon, Eiko just finished hanging some drinks to some customers, until she noticed one that was on his own reading the menu, she approached him

-¨Welcome, what can I get…¨ she realized who it was ¨Why are you here?!¨

-¨Hello, nice to see you too¨ Ren said with sarcasm

-¨I don´t have time for this¨ she began to walk away

-¨Excuse me, miss, aren´t you gonna take my order?¨ Ren asked in disbelief

Eiko sighed, the last thing she needed was troubles with her boss

-¨What can I get you?¨

-¨Some orange juice, and that you apologize to Makoto¨

-¨You are joking, right? Did she send you?¨

-¨No, I came here on my own accord, because I am also worry about you¨

-¨Mind your own business¨

-¨I am, I don´t think you realize of what you are losing, Makoto truly cares for you¨

-¨Don´t give me that crap, she tries to steal my boyfriend, she should just take her crap of ¨advices¨ and shove it down her¨

Before she could finish, Ren stood up

-¨That´s enough¨ he said with rage ¨If you keep this up, you are gonna lose a true friend¨

-¨Why does she care anyway?¨

-¨Because she is willing to pretend she has a boyfriend, someone she has no romantic feelings whatsoever, because she wants to make sure you are safe!¨

That revelation left Eiko shocked

-¨W-What does that mean?¨

-¨We are pretending, I am just doing her a favor¨

-¨I…. I can´t believe this, you guys had me completely fooled¨ and then she got angry ¨More the reason, she is a lier¨

-¨No, she is someone who is willing to put her life for others, who is trying to break out of her shelf, and she is definitely someone who will not sit back and let you do something stupid¨

-¨I…¨

-¨Look¨ Ren calmed himself down ¨I understand where are you coming from, but that Tsukasa is dangerous, trust me, I can tell that, being the son of a criminal, you heard some stories¨

-¨W-What?¨ Eiko was in disbelief

-¨My father is a criminal, he led a group of human trafficking people, and Makoto´s dad was a cop, so she also heard lots of stories about this sort of dangerous people, tell me, is it a guy who will destroy your life worth losing a friend, and worth losing your life?¨

-¨I… I… what do you know? Tsukasa is all I have¨

-¨No, you have Makoto and me, I just hope you realize of that in time¨ and with that, he was gone

Eiko was confused, did Makoto really cared? But she lied to her, someone who worries for you wouldn´t do that, unlike Tsukasa

-¨ _Why should I listen to her? Tsukasa is really honest with me_ ¨

* * *

Ren arrived at the door of Leblanc, he opened it and

-¨SURPRISE!¨ everybody yelled

Inside of Leblanc, there they were, Makoto, Ann, Ryuji, Yusuke, Futaba, Haru and Morgana, as well as the boss

-¨Happy birthday dude!¨ Ryuji said while wrapping an arm around his friend

-¨Thank you Ryuji¨

-¨Happy birthday Ren¨ Haru said

-¨Thank you Haru, but are you sure you want to be here? What about your father?¨

-¨He is still lock in his office, barely talking to anybody, but you guys told me that is natural so I am not worry, besides, this is also important, and the staff at home will let me know if anything happens¨

-¨Ok then¨

The door opened

-¨Oh, guess I made it in time¨ Hiro said

-¨Hiro!¨ Ren said surprised ¨I was not expecting you to show up¨

-¨My boss said it was fine for me to come, I mean, I am sure I will have lots of cleaning to do, but it was worth it, unfortunately mom couldn´t make it, but she still sent you a gift¨

-¨I understand, I already talked to her anyway¨

-¨So he is your brother, Ren?¨ Ann asked

-¨Nice to see you again, Amamiya-san¨ Yusuke said with a slight bow

-¨Hiro it´s fine¨

-¨Yo, Phoenix Wright¨ Futaba said

Hiro looked at her with a raised eyebrow ¨Anyway, I am not the one that came¨

He pointed at his small companion, an Apenzeller Sennenhunde

-¨Say hello to Wolvy¨

-¨Oh my god, it´s so cute¨ Ann said as she bend down and began to pat the dog ¨Who is a good boy?¨

-¨Lady Ann!¨ Morgana said shocked

The dog noticed the presence of the cat, and walked towards it

-¨What?¨

The dog began to licked the cat´s face

-¨Argh, stop, gross¨

The canine only barked

-¨Nice to meet you as well¨ the cat replied, somewhat annoyed

-¨Wait, you understand what the dog barked?!¨ Ryuji asked surprised

-¨Apparently¨

-¨Well, he is an animal, and you are too Morgana, technically¨ Makoto said

-¨Um, why are you all talking to the cat?¨ Hiro asked confused

-¨Oh, um, no reason, just joking¨ Ryuji said nervously

-¨First a cat, now a dog¨ Sojiro said ¨Might as well get a parrot and have a pet store¨

-¨Can we?¨ Futaba asked

-¨No!¨

Everybody laughed

The next couple of hours were passed between eating and the gang getting to know Hiro

-¨So that is how your first case went¨ Yusuke said

-¨Yeah, I was sweating bullets, as soon as I got home, I went straight to the shower and didn´t left for 30 minutes¨

-¨I can see why¨ Futaba said while looking at her phone

-¨What do you mean?¨ Haru asked

-¨Hear this, it was on a news article back in Yokohama: **Novice attorney defeats the unbeaten prosecutor, Hiro Amamiya, the courtroom revolutionaire** ¨

-¨Holy shit!¨ Ryuji said impressed

-¨So you are quite famous, right Hiro?¨ Ann asked

Hiro just rolled his eyes ¨Those journalists sure like to exaggerate things, it was just an average trial¨

-¨That put you on the map¨ Ren said

-¨Come now you guys, I don´t care about being famous, all I care is that the truth comes out, I don´t care if it means losing all my trials till the day I retire, that is the one thing that should truly matter for both the defense and the prosecution¨

Everybody were quite impressed

-¨How humble of you¨ Yusuke said ¨Yet, that is a very strong principle¨

-¨I agree¨ Ann said

While they were complementing Hiro, Makoto was somewhat sad

-¨ _He cares more about the truth than winning? I wish my sister was like that_ ¨ the more she thought about how great Ren´s brother was, searching for the truth, missing work so that he could spend time with his brother on his birthday

It wasn´t like that for her

* * *

 **April 23, a few months ago**

Makoto got to her home, tired from school and her usual duties as Student Council President, and what she saw in her living room? Nothing at all, not a single person

Her phone rang, it was her sister

 **Sae: I won´t be able to make it, got an important case to work, get yourself something deliver, anything you want, and have them send me the bill. Happy birthday**

Makoto let out a sigh, of course this happened, it was like that last year, and the year before that too

She simply decided to cook herself something, if she were to take on her sister offer, she would just snap at her on how they are wasting money on something as trivial as food

After eating her meal, she did her homework, and simply watched a movie about Yakuzas, this was her life now, alone, no family and/or friends

-¨Happy Birthday Makoto¨ she said as tears began to fall

* * *

-¨Something wrong Makoto?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨Huh? N-No, nothing at all¨

-¨Anyway, do you have any other stories?¨ Haru asked

-¨Well¨ Hiro said and grinned at his brother ¨Since we are celebrating Ren´s birthday, why don´t I take this opportunity to embarrassed him a little bit?¨

Ren´s eyes went wide ¨What?!¨

-¨Ooooh, this I like¨ Futaba said with a devilish smile

-¨Futaba!¨

-¨I must admit I am interest in that as well¨ Yusuke said

-¨Really?!¨

-¨Come on, give us something good¨ Ryuji said

-¨Ok¨ Hiro said

-¨Come on Hiro¨ Ren begged

-¨Sorry bro, but they are asking for it. Anyway, when Ren was 6 years old, he went to a Halloween party dressed up as small red Phoenix Ranger Featherman R¨

As soon as those words were said, Ren´s face went red, he buried it on his hands, while the others laughed

-¨I actually have a picture here¨

-¨Don´t you dare!¨ Ren said

-¨Do it! Do it!¨ the others yelled

And so, Hiro showed them the picture of 6 years old Ren wearing the small suit, his hair was even more messier than it is now, and he was making a fighting pose

-¨Oh my god¨ Ann said

-¨You were a hero of justice form such a young age, huh Ren?¨ Ryuji asked while wrapping an arm around his friend, who was wishing that a shadow showed up

-¨I think you look cute Ren¨ Haru said with a giggle

Yusuke was simply framing the picture with his fingers, inspiration has come

-¨Red does suit you Ren¨ Makoto said with a giggle of her own

-¨Thanks¨ Ren said ashamed

-¨You sure know lots of funny stories Phoenix Wright¨ Futaba said

-¨I am glad you like them, but¨ Hiro said ¨Do you really have to call me Phoenix Wright? I get why you are calling me that, it`s just¨

-¨Wow, really? You can tease Ren all you want but you can`t take a nickname? And I am even comparing you to an amazing videogame character, some mature big brother you are¨

-¨Ugh¨ Hiro said in defeat¨ Seriously though, I am glad you had fun that time. Considering how rough those times were¨

-¨No kidding¨ Ren said

-¨What do you mean?¨ Ann asked

-¨We have a hard time growing up, mostly in the financial point of view, the only reason I got into college was I got a good letter of recommendation¨

-¨Not to mention that mom had to take 2 jobs, since people knew who was her ex-husband, the school where she used to work kick her out, she didn´t return to teaching until last year¨

-¨Damn, that is rough, I know that feeling too well¨ Ryuji said

-¨It was, but things are better now, so don´t worry¨

-¨Anyway, it is time for the cake, Makoto, hit us with it¨

All eyes were on her

-¨Huh?¨

-¨What does she mean Makoto?¨ Ren asked

-¨Oh, well, you see¨ her face was getting red ¨I remember that you told me how your mom always makes you her secret chocolate cake, so I called her and ask for the recipe, I didn't want you to lose something that means a lot¨

Ren was touched by Makoto´s caring nature

-¨R-Really?¨ Ren asked

-¨I am amazed¨ Hiro said

-¨Why´s that?¨ Ryuji asked

-¨You have no idea how much she values that recipe, she doesn´t just give it to anyone¨

-¨Is that so?¨ Makoto asked surprised

-¨Yeah¨ Ren said ¨Thanks Makoto, it means a lot¨ and it sure did meant a lot, if only he could tell her the truth

-¨You have yet to try it, but I hope you like it¨

-¨Save some for us¨ Futaba complained

-¨Don´t worry, there is more than enough¨

After eating the cake, which was more than delicious, it was time to open the presents, by this point, Sojiro already left, first it was Yusuke´s present was first

-¨Let´s see what we have here¨ Ren said as he opened the package

Inside, there was a perfectly detailed drawing of Ren in his phantom thief suit, and right behind him was Arsene, his trustworthy Persona

-¨Wow¨ he said amazed ¨Yusuke, this is beautiful¨

-¨Really? That puts a smile on my face¨ the artist replied

-¨It truly is amazing¨ Ann said ¨I want one too, me alongside Carmen¨

-¨He might ask you to get naked¨ Ryuji mocked

This comment earned him a slap on the head

-¨Why do you bring that up?¨ the model asked, her cheeks crimson

-¨The offer is still on the table, you know?¨ Yusuke said

-¨Well, put it off the table¨

-¨Anyway, I really like it Yusuke, thanks, I´ll be sure to frame it¨

At that moment, Hiro came out of the bathroom, and began to check the work of art

-¨Oh, what´s this?¨

The thieves exchange looks of concern, they totally forgot about Hiro

-¨Um¨ Ryuji said nervous

-¨It´s… some art¨ Makoto said

-¨That, I can tell¨ Hiro said ¨But why does it says Ren Amamiya, a.k.a, Joker? Is there a reason why you used my brother´s name, Yusuke? You are the one who did this¨

-¨Oh¨ the artist was caught ¨Well¨

-¨Why you put Ren´s name?¨ Futaba whispered

-¨Had I known that Hiro would show up, I wouldn´t have brought this¨ he replied ¨It´s just that¨

-¨He is working on a novel¨ Haru came to the rescue ¨and he borrowed Ren´s name¨

-¨Yes, that¨

-¨Huh, but then, why does it have the Phantom Thieves logo?¨

-¨Oh, well¨

-¨Second of all, he is not just a character based on someone, this is my brother in all form and shape, and he is still a minor, and I didn´t get any calls, nor my mom did, of you asking for permission to use his image, and I am sure you don´t what any lawsuits regarding your art, so the whole working on a novel really doesn´t add up¨

-¨And finally, Yusuke¨ Hiro said ¨I can see in your signature that you put Fox, and not only that, there is also a smaller phantom thief logo, so my guess is that, you have seen my brother like this before, or am I wrong?¨

-¨Um¨

This was a moment of extreme danger, until the lights went out

-¨What the?!¨ Ryuji said surprised

-¨It`s a blackout¨ Ann said

-¨Talk about unexpected¨ Ren said

What they didn`t know was that it was all work of Futaba, who used her laptop to made the electricity go off

-¨Are there any candles we can use?¨ Hiro asked

-¨Yes, Makoto, give me a hand, would you?¨ Ren asked

-¨Y-Yes, let`s¨ she replied, somewhat scared of the dark atmosphere

-¨I`ll return the lights in about 10 minutes¨ Futaba whispered ¨Hide that painting now¨

The lights returned, so they continued with the present giving, after giving their respective gifts, Yusuke, Ann and Ryuji already went home

-¨Here`s my present Ren¨ Haru said as she handed him a card

-¨Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome¨ he read ¨That is Kötö, right?¨

-¨Yes, i was able to get you a lot there, now you can go and cultivate any flowers you want?¨

Everybody were shocked to hear that

-¨You actually got something like that?!¨ Makoto asked

-¨Yes, they can be bit judgmental of who can plant use their facilities, considering Ren`s probation, they might not even let him in, so I used a bit of influence to get him a lot¨

-¨Wow¨ Hiro said

-¨Haru, this is amazing, thanks a lot¨ Ren said with a smile

-¨I am glad you like it¨

Makoto felt weird, it was not like she wasn`t happy of Haru`s considerate nature, or the gift, it was… she couldn`t put it in words

-¨Anyway, I have to return home, have a good night everyone¨

-¨Bye¨ everybody said

And she was gone

-¨I guess I better go too¨ Makoto said, until her phone rang ¨Excuse me a moment¨ she took the call ¨Hello¨

-¨Makoto¨

-¨Eiko!?¨

That got Ren`s attention

-¨I know everything now, so just drop it¨

-¨Huh? What are you¨

-¨Don`t play dumb, about you and Ren, I know you two are not a couple, that you have been faking¨

That revelation made Makoto froze

-¨I don`t know what you are¨

-¨Don`t try it, he admitted to my face today at work, he said pretending to date someone that she has no romantic feelings for¨

-¨What?!¨ Makoto couldn`t believe, why Ren did that? ¨Eiko, listen, I¨

-¨Don`t talk to me ever again, you hear me?¨

And she hung up

-¨Eiko!? Eiko!¨

-¨What happened?¨ Ren asked

-¨You told Eiko that we were faking?¨

That question caught Ren off guard ¨I¨

-¨Ren, why?¨ she was hurt

-¨I am sorry, it`s just¨

-¨Caught the guy some slack Makoto¨ Hiro said ¨She was gonna find out sooner or later, right?¨

-¨Well, that is true, but you should have consulted me first, I am trying to help Eiko here so that she doesn`t get into a criminal group¨

-¨I want that too, trust me, I know of that sort of people and¨

-¨What do you know?!¨ she yelled, tears forming in her eyes ¨You didn`t lose somebody to criminals like that, you have a perfect brother that doesn`t miss your birthdays, that is not obsessed with work, you have your mother, you don`t know what is like to be alone¨

The room went silent, Ren expression was one of shock

-¨Makoto¨

She calmed down once she realized what she just said ¨I….. I have to go¨ and she ran away, not saying a word

Ren simply slammed the table ¨Damn it¨

-¨Ren¨ Hiro said worry

* * *

Makoto arrived home; she slammed the door shut and took deep breaths

-¨I can`t believe I said that, on his birthday no less¨ she remember what Eiko said

 **¨Someone she has no romantic feelings for¨**

Those words kept repeating on her mind

-¨That`s…. that`s not true¨ she finally admitted it, and rather than made her happy, she felt terrible

Her phone rang, she checked it, it was Ren, bur she simply let it ring, she didn`t have the right to tell her how she feels, not after what she did

* * *

-¨She is not answering¨ Ren said ¨Can`t say I blame her¨

-¨What do you mean?¨ Hiro asked

-¨Makoto has been alone for the last 3 years, alone at her house, her sister away at work, who only thinks of her as a burden, added to the pain for her father`s death, she must have got some jealousy, or rather, pain because of seeing how well we get, how I got it better, while she doesn`t¨

-¨I am far from perfect Ren¨

-¨We all are far from perfect, but, I should have considered Makoto`s feelings more, here I was spending my birthday with all of you while she probably spent the last 3 ones with no one, and¨ realization hit him ¨Oh gods, she must now be blaming herself for what she just said, she is always doing that whenever she causes some sort of problem, damn it, I am such an idiot¨

-¨Hey, stop right there¨ Hiro said ¨You are not, you made a mistake? Maybe, but I know you can make it up¨

-¨Thanks bro, to be honest, I don`t care if she does not feel the same way for me, I just want to apologize to her and make sure she doesn`t hate me, that is all I ask¨

-¨I don`t think she hates you, she is most likely mad at herself, all you need to do is talk to each other¨

-¨I know, I`ll figure out a way to do so¨

-¨That is the spirit¨ he stood up ¨Anyway, I have to go, give me a call if you need anything¨

-¨Thank you bro, good night¨

And he was gone

Ren stood there, trying to figure out what to do, he couldn`t just simply show up and talk to her, he needed more, he then looked at the kitchen, and a lightbulb turned on his head

* * *

Makoto got out of the shower, figuring it would be the best way to calm herself, but she still thought of Ren, of how she had the nerve to question him after all he did for him, she needed to make up for this, even if he doesn`t feel the same way, she just wanted to make sure Ren doesn`t hate her, but how?

She looked at her kitchen, she knew what to do

* * *

 **9/28 Wednesday**

Ren was running as fast as he could, after all, he was arriving late to school

-¨I hope she hasn`t ate lunch yet¨ he said between breaths

Makoto was running as fast as she could, after all, she was arriving late to school

-¨I hope he hasn't ate lunch yet¨ she said between breaths

Ren arrived at the school gate

Makoto arrived at the school gate

-¨Huh?!¨ both said surprised to see the other arrived late, with a lunchbox in their respective hand

* * *

 **And that is that, so let`s see**

 **Dum dum dum, the truth has been revealed, now Ren must carry with this dault forever, will Makoto find out? and how Daizo escaped?**

 **We also have Ren birthday, i love writing this scene, specially with Hiro, and boy things got rough at the end, Makoto finally realized her feeling, but neither thinks they deserve to ex`ress their feelings, but what will happen now that they ran into each othwer at the school gate? who is that kunch for?**

 **And have you seen the news regarding Scramble? it looks so awesome, everybody has new looks, it takes place 6 months after P5 (not sure if Royal or not) and boy, we get more info on november 4**

 **Speaking of Royal, i spoiled myself the endings and such, if you want to know, feel free to ask me, but, it was dissapointing**

 **The next chapter will be a short one, because, it is time for confessions, specially the one with the study partner**

 **As usual, thank you for everything, leave reviews and comments, and i will gladly answer them**

 **Next chapter will be, i dont know when, since i am dealing with a lot of negativity and stress, so much that writing is actually a cure, in a certain dose anyway**

 **Until next time**

 **Peace**


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